LAX officials approve $1.3B for terminal wing construction

Dive Brief:

Los Angeles World Airports Board of Airport Commissioners has approved a $1.3 billion spend toward the construction of a new wing of the Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport, according to MyNewsLA.
The addition, which will connect the airfield to the main airport via a 1,000-foot tunnel, will include 12 south gates to accommodate wide-bodied airplanes, with room left to build an additional seven south gates at some point in the future. The tunnel will have 42-inch-thick walls and will be able to withstand the 660-ton weight of an A380 aircraft.
The $1.3 billion includes a $355 million change order for the tunnel and extra baggage handling and processing space. The wing, which should be ready for at least partial use by 2019, is being financed with cash and revenue bonds backed by income generators like terminal fees and passenger charges.

Dive Insight:

The team of Turner and PCL Construction was awarded a $961.3 million contract in 2014, but there was no indication in the latest report as to whether the change order affected the joint venture's contract.

In September, airport officials asked the public to comment on the environmental review for a $5 billion program of improvements at the airport in order to ensure optimal traffic movement and access to the facility. At the time, they said the project would include two transfer stations built offsite, a rental car building and a $2.7 billion, 2.25-mile elevated people mover to shuttle people around the airport grounds and reduce traffic.

This past summer, LAX announced that it had chosen five design-build teams to submit their proposals for the people mover, including Gateway Connectors (Kiewit-Skanska USA), LA Connext Partners (Ferrovial-Bechtel) and LINXS (Fluor-Balfour Beatty-Flatiron-Dragados). All of the teams represent heavy hitters in the industry, and the winner will design, build, operate and maintain the people mover under a public-private partnership (P3). LAX officials said the P3's maintenance element would give whoever won the project the added motivation to build a "quality project within budget."

P3s have become the delivery method of choice for more airport expansion projects in the U.S., particularly when the private part of the team can bring necessary financing to the deal. To that end, Denver International Airport officials announced they had chosen Spain-based Ferrovial Airports to devise a P3 plan for a 15-million-square-foot terminal expansion. The city council approved the strategy in August, and the two parties are working out a plan to move forward with the P3. In exchange for providing funding, the Ferrovial team will receive a portion of airport revenues.

Construction under a P3 contract is also in progress at the $4 billion LaGuardia Airport addition in New York City. Skanska USA, which is part of the P3 team's private component of LaGuardia Gateway Partners, said the undertaking marks the company's largest project ever. The Skanska team is building a new terminal, central hall, and associated infrastructure.