On the day Raleigh-Durham International Airport received $12 million from the federal government to help expand Terminal 2, the airport board decided to spend up to $40 million building a canopy over the terminal’s upper level drop-off zone to protect people from the weather.

The two events were coincidental.

RDU had unsuccessfully sought money from the Federal Aviation Administration’s airport terminals program twice before but learned Thursday it was among the 144 airports to get grants this year. The money will help pay for additional baggage carousels and security checkpoints in RDU’s main terminal, as well as a larger customs area for arriving international passengers.

Meanwhile, last month the Airport Authority board was presented with several options for putting a roof over the area where cars drop off departing passengers. The canopy that’s there now covers the sidewalk and about half the width of a car parked next to the curb, leaving much of the drop-off zone exposed to the elements.

The options ranged from modest changes to the existing canopy to building a new 140-foot-wide structure that would cover not only the entire drop-off zone but also the lower-level roadway where some arriving passengers catch buses. Those new structures would cost an estimated $75 million to $90 million, depending on the design.

That was too much for board members.

“I don’t think any of us are wild about spending almost $90 million, in light of all of the other needs that we have to address,” said Ellis Hankins, the board’s chair who represents Wake County.

But Hankins and other board members agreed that people arriving at Terminal 2 should be afforded some cover. Nina Szlosberg-Landis noted that the Triangle gets some kind of rain about 108 days a year.

“So it’s not like we’re living in Arizona where it it only happens very infrequently,” said Szlosberg-Landis, who represents Raleigh. “This is actually a pretty necessary thing because basically a third of our days have some kind of rain.”

So instead of a 140-foot canopy that would stretch from the terminal to the parking decks, the board on Thursday asked for one about half that size that would cover just the upper-level drop-off zone. And they gave the designers a budget of no more than $40 million.

Other changes to Terminal 2 planned

The new canopy would be part of a bigger effort to enlarge what the airport calls the “landside” of the terminal by expanding the building at both ends. The added space would allow the airport to add more ticket counters, baggage carousels and security checkpoints, as well as increase the capacity of the customs area.

Last fall, the Airport Authority approved a $30 million contract for final designs and other work needed to begin construction in early 2025.

The expansion will cost an estimated $400 million, not including the canopy. Altogether, RDU has about $3 billion worth of construction projects planned over the next decade, including building a new runway and taxiways, tripling the size of its largest remote parking lot and expanding both terminals.

Given those numbers, the $12 million grant announced by the FAA on Thursday may seem small. But Michael Landguth, the airport’s president and CEO, says it’s more than welcome as the airport tries to cobble together money from various sources.

“Twelve million dollars, that is a big number for us,” Landguth told the board Thursday.

RDU wants to expand Terminal 2 to keep up with growing demand for air travel in the Triangle. The airport handled a record 14.5 million passengers last year and set a January record last month, with 967,600.

Airlines are responding. With the announcement of new service to Panama in June, Copa Airlines became the 18th carrier doing business at RDU and Panama City the 10th nonstop international destination from the Triangle. Airlines now offer nonstop flights to more than 65 destinations from the Triangle.