Comment from Persistence Analytics Group LLC

The revitalization of Washington Dulles International Airport should be treated not only as an architectural or construction project, but as a national infrastructure execution test. Dulles is an international gateway to the Nation’s Capital. A bold new terminal and concourse program should therefore be evaluated through four lenses: 1. Passenger experience; 2. Operational continuity; 3. Infrastructure resilience; 4. Financing and execution integrity. A successful project should not merely replace aging facilities. It should create a verifiable operating model for how major U.S. gateway infrastructure can be modernized without cost drift, schedule slippage, avoidable service disruption, or long-term operational fragility. I recommend that DOT and MWAA incorporate an independent assumption-verification framework into any future design-build, P3, or major renovation pathway. That framework should test the following before project commitments harden: • Demand durability: Are passenger-growth, international-service, airline-use, cargo, customs, and landside-access assumptions realistic across multiple scenarios? • Operational continuity: Can airport operations, security screening, international arrivals, baggage systems, concessions, ground transportation, and airline scheduling continue during construction with measurable disruption limits? • Energy and utility resilience: What new electric load, backup power, cooling, fuel, communications, water, and emergency-system requirements will the new facilities create? What load can be permanently reduced through efficient design before new utility capacity is financed? • Cost allocation: Who pays for which improvements — federal government, MWAA, airlines, concessionaires, passengers, private partners, or other beneficiaries — and how are risks allocated if assumptions prove wrong? • Financing integrity: If a P3 or alternative delivery model is used, the structure should clearly identify lifecycle maintenance responsibilities, revenue assumptions, debt-service exposure, performance obligations, and public-risk protections. • Construction phasing: DOT should require transparent sequencing that shows how each phase preserves airport functionality while moving toward the final design. • Security and national resilience: As a capital-region gateway, Dulles should be designed around aviation security, emergency response, cyber resilience, continuity of government considerations, and international-arrival surge capacity. • Historic integration: If the Eero Saarinen-designed main terminal is retained or incorporated, it should not be treated as a decorative constraint. It should be integrated into a modern operating system that improves passenger flow, wayfinding, security, and gate access. The central point is simple: A beautiful airport that is over-budget, operationally disruptive, energy-intensive, or dependent on weak financing assumptions will not serve the public well. A successful Dulles revitalization should be beautiful, functional, resilient, financeable, and measurable. DOT should require every serious concept to include an “assumption verification” section addressing: 1. What demand assumptions support the design; 2. What operational assumptions support the construction phasing; 3. What energy and utility assumptions support the facility plan; 4. What financing assumptions support the delivery model; 5. What risks are retained by the public; 6. What risks are transferred to private partners; 7. What metrics will determine whether the project is succeeding. The United States should build an airport worthy of the Nation’s Capital. But the standard should be higher than appearance alone. Trust the vision. Verify the execution. Neil P. Osnato Founder Persistence Analytics Group LLC | United Grid National Security & Infrastructure Risk Analytics Demand Durability | Grid Stress | Load Integrity neil@persistenceanalyticsgroup.com 609-464-9055 https://persistenceanalyticsgroup.com/ SAM.gov Registered Vendor UEI: D3VYU39H6DX9 | CAGE: 19T34 D-U-N-S: 142849930