Within weeks, representatives of 13 airlines that serve Harry Reid International Airport will gather in Las Vegas to hear a presentation on the airport management’s proposal to expand and modernize the facility.

The proposed modernization is a stopgap project that is expected to handle growing passenger demand while a second supplemental reliever airport is built south of Las Vegas in the Ivanpah Valley within the next 12 years.

An expansion appears necessary because Reid passenger numbers are growing at an extraordinary rate.