AECOM, partner win design contract for $750M Boston Logan airport project

Dive Brief:

AECOM, along with design partner Luis Vidal & Architects, has been awarded the design and engineering contract for the $750 million, 10-year upgrade planned for Terminal E at Logan International Airport in Boston, according to The Boston Globe. Once the work is completed, the team said it will seek LEED Gold certification for the renovated terminal.
The team's futuristic design includes a red roof and eyelash-spaced skylights, an edgy look that the Massachusetts Port Authority categorized as preliminary and one that could change as the project moves forward. AECOM, according to The Construction Index, will provide full architectural and design services for terminal renovations, ticketing and arrival upgrades, a new security checkpoint, an airline club space, a new baggage system, concession spaces and a great hall.
The terminal was built to accommodate a little more than 1.5 million passengers, but approximately six million international travelers passed through the facility last year.

Dive Insight:

AECOM scored another big transportation-related project this month. The owner/operator of many public infrastructure projects in Canada, CDPQ Infra Inc., awarded a $5.3 billion engineering and construction contract for an automated light-rail line in Montreal to the AECOM joint-venture NouvLR General Partnership. The 40-mile electrified project includes 26 stations, bridges, tunnels and other necessary infrastructure. The Reseau Express Metropolitain (REM) is slated to be the fourth-largest automated light-rail line in the world.

However, AECOM lost its bid last year for the $1 billion Kansas City International Airport terminal contract. In September, after a somewhat-contentious bidding process, the Kansas City council selected Edgemoor Infrastructure & Real Estate to perform the terminal replacement, even hometown favorite Burns & McDonnell, another bidder, first presented the project idea to the council.

Since the award to Edgemoor was made, the city council and engineering and design teams have gone back and forth about the decision; the council voided the memorandum of understanding (MOU) in December, only to continue negotiations with Edgemoor.

Critics of the campaign against Edgemoor claim that some council members were trying to find a way to give the project contract to second-place bidder AECOM. While the council last week voted to keep working with Edgemoor, the final agreement won't be firmed up until fall, which gives those who want either AECOM or Burns & McDonnell do the work time to figure out a way to make that happen.