The Dallas/Fort Worth Airport in Texas faces $5 billion to $10 billion in new capital infrastructure projects that could include runways, taxiways and other parts of the airfield.

The airport opened in 1974 and handles around 1,800 flights a day. The Star-Telegram newspaper says that airport executives know that concrete and pavement are reaching the end of their expected lifespan. Airport staff reportedly has begun testing airfield pavement to determine how many layers of runway will need to be rebuilt.

DFW opened in 1974 and handles some 1,800 flights a day.The newspaper says the Airports Council International says U.S. airports have close to $100 billion in infrastructure projects scheduled for the next five years. Projects include updating terminals, rehabilitating runways and improving roads and parking garages.

Dallas airport officials and American Airlines are discussing whether to build a sixth terminal at the airport. As a result of those discussions renovation work on the airport's Terminal C has been put off. Terminal D, which was completed in 2005, cost more than $1.7 billion to construct, the newspaper says.

DFW Airport’s four main runways are about 13,400 feet long each. The airport can shut down one runway at a time to perform the renovations. The first runway that the airport is considering for rehabilitation is 17C, which is one of its arrival runways. DFW has seven runways, with four primarily used for arrivals and three for departures.

Arrival runways tend to have a shorter lifespan than others since the concrete in the middle section gets impacted by tens of thousands of pounds each time an aircraft lands. The airport hopes to start working on runway 17C next year.