From the Daily Breeze:
Board eyeing $1.13 billion in LAX upgrades
By Art Marroquin Staff Writer
Posted: 10/17/2009 10:46:12 PM PDT
Each new gate built at the Tom Bradley International Terminal will be capable of serving supersized jetliners.
The Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners is poised Monday to consider a pair of construction contracts totaling $1.13 billion to build nine new airline gates and add 1 million square feet to the Tom Bradley International Terminal by 2013.
If approved, the move would mark the largest awarding of construction contracts at one time for a single project in city history, funded through a combination of bonds and airport revenues, said Gina Marie Lindsey, executive director of Los Angeles International Airport.
"This is the front door to the United States for millions of international passengers every year, but our front door has, for years, not really reflected the city," Lindsey said. "This project is going to be a tangible way for our front door to be significantly upgraded and something that the city can be proud of."
The first contract, worth more than $545.5 million, calls on the Phoenix-based joint venture of Austin Commercial and Walsh Construction Co. to build nine new airline gates for the so-called Bradley West terminal.
Each gate will be equipped with dual passenger loading bridges and spacious concourses capable of handling passengers arriving and departing on supersized jetliners such as the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
Two years ago, Lindsey promised the Los Angeles City Council that at least two of those gates would be built by January 2012, and said she has remained steadfast to that commitment.
The second contract, worth $584.2 million, would require Austin-Walsh to demolish the Bradley terminal's old concourse area and build a pair of new concourses on the north and south sides of the structure, leading to the addition of 1 million square feet for shops, restaurants, ticketing desks, security screening and baggage claim areas.
The contract would also cover construction costs for an expanded federal customs inspection area and a pair of secured corridors connecting with Terminals 3 and 4 to provide easier access for airline passengers needing to catch another flight.
"This is the defining moment of LAX and its modernization, and clearly puts us out front in making this the airport of the future," said Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, whose district includes LAX. "I believe that people coming to America for the first time will be pleased to see this place when it's all done."
Austin-Walsh was awarded a separate $10.9 million contract in April for pre-construction services related to the Bradley West project.
While the Austin-Walsh venture did not submit the lowest construction bid, the group was selected "based on a formula that calculated the proposed contract fee, their experience in handling large projects and the scoring factors that our selection team had rated them on," Lindsey said.
More than 30 airlines operate from the Bradley terminal, which was built just before the 1984 Summer Olympics were held in Los Angeles.
Even though the airport has spent about $700 million over the last several years to refurbish the aging terminal, the project did not allow officials to build new facilities beyond the original footprint.
"We went into that initial project with eyes wide open and we fully appreciate and recognize what was accomplished, but we were never sure if and when the Bradley West project would ever be implemented," said Frank Clark, head of LAXTEC Corp., the agency that represents the airlines operating in the Bradley terminal.
An environmental impact report for the Bradley West project was finally approved last week by the Los Angeles City Council and was green-lighted as part of a legal settlement reached nearly four years ago, when it was listed as one of several projects that could proceed as part of the overall LAX modernization plan.
The Bradley West project is expected to generate an estimated 4,000 jobs for the region, but the construction comes as fewer overseas travelers are passing through LAX amid the ongoing economic recession.
"I think this is a huge deal for the airport and for the city because there aren't a lot of fabulous things happening right now," Lindsey said. "There's a kind of symbolism in building something grand and new, and to generate some jobs at a time when a lot of the news we're hearing isn't so happy."
art.marroquin@dailybreeze.com