Dive Brief:
- The first phase of the biggest construction project in Utah state history, the $3.6 billion redevelopment of Salt Lake City International Airport, is now 50% complete, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.
- Construction crews have been able to keep most of the work out of passenger and resident view so far, but that should change soon as vertical building and elevated roadway construction progresses. In addition to the roadways, work continues on a new concourse for airplane gates, a new enclosed terminal, a gateway building, a five-story parking garage, a second concourse, motorized walkways and baggage systems. There are currently 1,750 construction workers on the project, with the airport spending approximately $50 million to $70 million each month.
- The first phase is on track for 2020 completion, at which time the airport's new south concourse will be the length of seven football fields and will be expanded to the length of 12 football fields after the entire project is built. The second concourse will be about half that long. The second phase includes demolition of the existing airport.
Dive Insight:
The cost of the airport project is now twice the original projection of $1.8 billion. Adding to the tab was a $740 million concourse, labor and material price increases due to the local building boom and a budget that was a "moving target" until major bids could be confirmed, according to the Deseret News. Additional price increases could happen if Delta, the airport's main carrier, requests design changes, but the airline would bear the cost of such extras.
HD Construction, a joint venture between Holder Construction and Big-D Construction, is overseeing the airport project, and, according to the project website, the team has removed almost 3 million square feet of pavement, installed almost 20,000 tons of structural steel and 110,000 square feet of shoring and de-watering systems and excavated 114,000 cubic yards for underground tunnels. Both Holder and Big-D have significant airport construction experience.
According to the latest report from Building Design + Construction, the top airport contractors in the U.S. by revenue for the year-ending 2016 were Hensel Phelps (roughly $822 million); Turner Construction ($543 million); Skanska USA ($465 million); Austin Commercial (nearly $424 million); AECOM ($337 million); Manhattan Construction Group ($242.5 million) and the Walsh Group ($228 million). Holder Construction came in at No. 16 on BD+C's list with $49 million in airport construction revenue.
