LAX officials seeking public comment on $5B airport overhaul

Dive Brief:

Los Angeles International Airport officials have invited public comment on the recently released environmental review of the planned $5 billion expansion, according to the Daily Breeze.
While the review's purpose is to determine how the project can best reduce and redistribute traffic as well as improve general access, it also makes public the most details to date regarding the renovation.
The LAX project includes two offsite transfer stations for ground transportation, a new rental car facility, and a 2.25-mile elevated people-mover that LAX officials hope will ease congestion in and around the airport. Officials expect the project to be completed in 2024.

Dive Insight:

Last month, airport officials revealed that they had selected five teams to submit public-private partnership (P3) proposals for the $2.7 billion people-mover portion of the project. Gateway Connectors (Kiewit-Skanska USA), LA Connext Partners (Ferrovial-Bechtel) and LINXS (Fluor-Balfour Beatty-Flatiron-Dragados), all of which have significant experience with infrastructure and transportation projects, are among those bidding. According to LAX authorities, because the winning team will design, build, operate and maintain the people-mover, it will have more incentive to "deliver a quality project within budget."

Airport construction is also underway in several U.S. metro areas, with some of the most ambitious and high-profile projects in New York, Chicago and Atlanta. Last month, construction began on a $649 million runway project at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. The projects marks the sixth and final runway addition, which is expected to increase the airport's capacity to the level of "a third airport," according to officials, and generate 6,000 jobs. The entire project is expected to be complete in 2020.

Construction also began this summer on the new $4 billion LaGuardia Airport terminal project. A Skanska-led joint venture will build the new 1.3 million-square foot, 35-gate Terminal B as part of what is reportedly the largest public-private partnership in the country. Skanska also recently announced that it is the company's largest project ever.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport might have the biggest expansion ambitions of all, with its $6 billion, 20-year development plan. Projects include a new $393 million domestic terminal, which officials expect to be complete in 2018, a $943 million sixth runway by 2034 and a 400-room hotel. According to airport officials, the Atlanta airport is the busiest in the world, processing 101.5 million passengers in 2015.