LAX
Final EIR for Tom Bradley Terminal reconfiguration and enhancement project released.
By Helga Gendell
The final environmental impact report (FEIR) for the Bradley West Project at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) was released by Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) officials on Thursday, September 10th.
This final EIR for the reconfiguration and enhancement of the Tom Bradley International Terminal incorporates and responds to comments received on the notice of preparation in the draft EIR, and includes corrections and additions to the draft environmental report.
LAWA — the city agency that operates LAX — the Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners and other decision makers will use the FEIR to inform their decisions on the Bradley West Project as is required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), according to airport officials.
Mike Doucette, chief of airport planning, stated at a June meeting for the draft EIR that the plan is to have the final report by the end of the year, beginning construction on the north concourse in January, with a completion date of January 2012, and completion for the south concourse by September/October 2012. The main core building behind the Bradley Terminal would be completed by April 2013, he said.
Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, who represents the LAX area in the 11th District, said that many of his constituents had expressed concerns about the proposed temporary northwest contractor parking area planned for Westchester Parkway.
“I agreed with you that this would place an unreasonable traffic burden on Westchester and Playa del Rey, so I asked LAWA to find another solution to its parking needs,” Rosendahl told his constituents.
“I am pleased that this final EIR addresses that concern and selects the west construction staging/parking area to the south of World Way West as the primary parking area for the project.”
Under the “comments and responses” section of the final EIR, airport officials said that to avoid the space constraints and potential congestion of including the parking/staging area near the area assigned to the primary contractor for the Crossfield Taxiway Project, the parking area for the Bradley West Project would be established in the southern end of the west construction staging area, and officials would develop a southern access route to the proposed parking area.
Such a route would extend from an existing driveway located on the east side of Pershing Drive in Playa del Rey, approximately 1,900 feet south of World Way West.
The subject driveway provides direct northbound access onto Pershing and southbound access onto Pershing via an unsignalized opening in the existing raised median.
That driveway would be widened to provide adequate space for ingress/egress, and the median within Pershing would be modified to create a left-turn pocket for southbound vehicles to turn east into the driveway, officials said.
In addition, LAWA officials said they are evaluating the feasibility of improving the intersection as a signalized “T” intersection with Pershing Drive, enhancing safety for traffic turning left into or out of the driveway.
If this signal were to be implemented, it would be dependent on vehicle activation and minimize the interruption of traffic on Pershing Drive.
Bradley West Project
The existing terminal is approximately one million square feet, and the Bradley West project plans to add another million square feet, an addition which would likely end up being about 700,000 to 800,000 square feet once completed, said Doucette.
This project is the third part of the larger LAX Master Plan.
The first project was the South Airfield Project, which moved the runway 55 feet to the south.
The second project was the Crossfield Taxiway Program, which is currently underway. The taxiway project facilitates movement of some of the Group VI aircraft, such as the Airbus A380, the Boeing B747-8 and the Boeing 787 from the north side to the south side, and includes “remain overnight” aircraft parking.
The Bradley West project includes substantial improvements related to the concourses and central core area of Bradley Terminal. Key elements include construction of new north and south concourses just west of the existing concourses, which would be demolished.
The new concourses would provide larger hold rooms, improved and expanded concessions, airline lounges, passenger corridors and administrative offices.
The project includes construction of nine aircraft gates and associated loading bridge and apron areas along the west side of the new concourses.
Other improvements include relocation and consolidation of existing aircraft gates along the east side of the Bradley Terminal, in conjunction with the demolition of the existing concourses. Ten new aircraft gates, associated loading bridges and apron areas would be constructed along the east side of the new concourses to replace the 12 aircraft gates that currently exist at the terminal.
The existing U.S. Customs and Border Protection areas within the central core of the terminal would be renovated, improved and enlarged. Construction of secure/sterile passenger corridors (areas allowing only passengers who have gone through security clearance and are subject to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or airline security requirements) between Terminals 3 and 4 and the Bradley Terminal would take place, connecting them to facilitate passenger access.
Existing Taxiways S and Q, currently located in the area proposed for the new concourse and/or gates, would be relocated westward.
All of the documents for the final EIR are available for public review at the LAWA Administration Building, Airports and Facilities Planning Division, 7301 World Way West, Third Floor, Westchester.
Information, Dennis Quilliam at (310) 646-7614, ext. 1017.
The final EIR for the Bradley West Project is available online: “Projects — Publications” at
www.ourlax.org/.