The remarkable skill displayed by the building trades in the construction of the new Midfield Terminal at Metro Airport was rarely mentioned in the media in the days and weeks before it opened on Feb. 24, but we'll say it here: well done!

At times more than 2,000 Hardhats toiled at Metro Airport, building the new 97-gate terminal, the south access road and tunnel, energy center, parking deck, and everything else. Detroit has gone from having what was one of the worst airports in the nation, to one of the best, and the work of the building trades and their employers made it happen.

The opening days for the new terminal are sure to have glitches - just like there were glitches in the building process - but it's clear that the talents of the building trades union workers landed a well-built project that will last for years.

AN ESCALATOR on the gateway level gets the attention of Jack Beaudoin of Local 36 and Otis Elevator.

A LABORER clears scrap at one end of the mile-long terminal, in this photo taken in April 2000.

ARTISAN TILE workers from Local 32 install and polish a mosaic floor at the Midfield Terminal in January.

CAULKING the floor next to a moving walkway in the concourse is Stephen Jacobs of BAC Local 1. These photos were taken as the concourse was being completed in January.