Projects Taking Off
Photos courtesy Airports/Joshua Sudock
Airports: In May and June, two major new projects opened at LAX – an expansion of west midfield satellite gates at the Tom Bradley International Terminal, and a terminal that bridges the existing Terminals 1 and 2.
These continue LAX’s historic transformation that is changing the airport and how passengers navigate access to it. They form part of a collection of projects that is the biggest in Airports and City history. (The rebuild of the center terminal power plant, the main Tom Bradley International Terminal and the main Terminal 1 opened in recent years. Still to come: the massive people mover and affiliated stations; midfield terminals 4.5 and 5.5; and a new Airport Police HQ, among others.)
New West Gates
On May 24, Airports opened the new $1.73 billion West Gates project at Tom Bradley International Terminal.
“LAX is our gateway to the world — a global crossroads where dreams take flight and where we welcome the future of our city with open arms,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti.
The five-level, 15-gate, 750,000-square-foot facility, which will serve both international and domestic flights, marks the latest step in the airport’s $14.5 billion modernization.
At nearly 1,700 feet in length, the West Gates at Tom Bradley International Terminal is located just west of the main international terminal and was completed over the course of four-and-a-half years.
The new gates were “designed around a modern, digitally based travel experience and offer numerous comfortable seating options, with thousands of places to plug in, while accessing next-generation wireless internet, touchscreen kiosks and the most advanced baggage handling and boarding systems of any airport in the United States today,” Airports said.
The West Gates at Tom Bradley project was funded from LAX’s operating revenues, Capital Improvement Program funds, fees from airlines, passenger facility charges and airport revenue bond proceeds. No money was used from the city’s General Fund or taxpayers.
Terminal 1 Extension
On June 4, Airports opened its new Terminal 1 Extension, a $477.5 million facility that added increased capacity with new passenger check-in lobby, security screening, baggage claims and future connection to the Automated People Mover (APM) train system.
The addition to Terminal 1, which was described as Terminal 1.5 during construction, includes the first of seven Terminal Vertical Cores to open at LAX. In the Terminal 1 core, elevators and escalators will provide passengers access to a pedestrian bridge that will connect to the future APM train system’s Center Central Terminal Area (CTA) station.
The 283,000-square-foot extension of Terminal 1 will connect to Terminal 2 behind security when the terminal connector is completed this fall, allowing passengers to move between the two buildings without having to be re-screened and providing another access point for greater flexibility.
“The opening of this Terminal 1 extension is another major step toward a fully transformed and fully connected LAX,” said Justin Erbacci, Chief Executive Officer, Airports. “It provides a further glimpse of our incredible future – one that will offer world-class facilities, setting the stage for a reimagined LAX.” n
