LAX Updates TBIT

March/April 2008

Preparing for Takeoff

LAX’s Tom Bradley International Terminal renovates up—and out

By Tony Illia

LAX hopes to recapture more international traffic with a $723.5-million overhaul of Tom Bradley International Terminal. (Image courtesy of Leo A. Daly)

A key component of Los Angeles International Airport is being supersized. The world’s fifth-busiest airport recently launched its largest project ever a $723.5-million, full-body makeover of its Tom Bradley International Terminal. The 1-million-sq-ft terminal, which first opened in 1984 for the Olympics and is named after the first African-American and longest-serving mayor of Los Angeles, serves more than 10 million travelers a year.

The 15-gate complex cost $123 million to build 24 years ago. Tutor-Saliba Corp., Sylmar, Calif., was the contractor, with the joint-venture of William Pereira, Daniel Dworsky, Bonito A. Sinclair and John Williams as architect.

This time around, Clark Construction Group California LP, Costa Mesa, and St. Louis-based McCarthy Building Cos. Inc. have combined as the 50-50 joint-venture general contractor. Omaha-Neb.-based Leo A. Daly is the project designer and architect-of-record, with Parsons Group Inc. of Pasadena as construction manager and owners’ representative.

Staying Competitive

LAX is the world’s fifth-busiest airport, serving 61.9 million passengers in 2007. (Photo courtesy of LAX)

The renovation broke ground in February 2007 and marks TBIT’s first major upgrade since its opening. The improvements are expected to help LAX remain competitive with international travelers although it will only add one additional large aircraft gate.

The airport over the last six years has lost 12% of the seats on its weekly international departures to other major U.S. gateways like San Francisco, which opened a $1-billion, 2.5-million-sq-ft international terminal in 2000 and posted gains in service to foreign destinations, according to the U.S. Dept. of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technologies, Administration Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

Carriers have publicly cited LAX’s outdated terminals as a reason for reduced travel as well as the introduction of more fuel-efficient aircraft that allow them to bypass the facility.

“This project will enhance passenger safety by reducing congestion in the airline check-in lobbies and on the curbside while improving the travelers’ experience as they pass through LAX,” says Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa (D) in a statement about TBIT improvements.

The 38-month undertaking entails 462,000 sq ft of interior improvement and refurbishment, plus 45,000 sq ft of space to house $140-million worth of new inline baggage screening systems purchased separately from $723.5-million contract.

The joint-venture team responded to a request-for-proposal and was awarded the Los Angeles World Airports project based on best value in September 2006. LAWA is the city’s umbrella agency that oversees operation of its four area airports, including LAX.

Although the construction budget is $575.6 million, the contract amount is for $503.5 million for construction with a $72.1-million contingency cushion.

“The contingency fund is for unknown conditions,” says Gordon A. Phillips, a principal with Leo A. Daly. “There is a lot of old infrastructure inside the building, including 25-year-old rusted air-handler units atop the roof, and corroded pipes.”

Green Standard

The international terminal's makeover is its first major upgrade since opening for the 1984 Olympics. (Photo courtesy of Leo A. Daly)

Clark/McCarthy has the terminal’s original blueprints as a reference, and although there have been some utilities out-of-place, the project remains on schedule and within budget. But $10 million was added to the budget after the contract award in order to pursue a sustainability certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.

It’s the first LAX project to incorporate LEED standards per a sustainable building policy adopted by the Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners in January 2007. The initiative commits LAWA to incorporate LEED standards in all future construction projects.

“Experience has shown that buildings incorporating sustainable design and construction features make for healthier work environments and encourage higher productivity among employees,” says Airport Board President Alan Rothenberg.

Clark/McCarthy is recycling or salvaging 75% of the project’s construction and demolition waste, preventing it from ending up in a landfill. It is also using several green building products for the terminal’s refurbishment, including recycled epoxy terrazzo flooring as well as carpet tiles with a low volatile organic compound adhesive backing.

Ceilings feature acoustical panels and 70% recycled perforated metal while walls use vinyl coverings and a high-pressure laminate panel manufactured by Poway, Calif.-based Trespa North America Ltd.

One of TBIT's significant upgrades is a new high-efficiency heating and cooling system with nine major roof-mounted air handlers for the terminal and another 10 for the concourse. Its heating and cooling controls, which now utilize outdated pneumatics, are being replaced with a cost-saving digital system. TMAD Taylor & Gaines Engineering, Pasadena, is serving as mechanical, electrical and plumbing consulting engineer to Leo A. Daly.

Boom Boxes

TBIT is a six-level, steel-and-glass structure with arrivals located at level one, followed by baggage handling and arrivals on level two; departures at level three; a concession mezzanine, VIP rooms and airline offices on level four; additional airline offices, lounges and VIP rooms on level five and service catwalks and back-of-house facilities at level six.

The project will add new space with a five-story north matrix building and a two-story south matrix building, which together will house 13 inline CTX machines that combine X-ray and CT scanner technologies to speedily examine luggage content. They are called matrix buildings because of the inline baggage systems passing through them.

The two buildings will house a combined 15,000 ft of conveyor belts and will eliminate van-sized explosive detection machines located in the lobby and help cut the lengthy passenger check-in lines.

“It will free-up 4,000 sq ft, cleaning up the ticketing-departure hall,” Leo A. Daly’s Phillips says. “There are currently long lines for inspections that clutter the whole departure hall. That process will now be expedited and smoothed out.”

Airbus-Capable

The project will add a new five-story north matrix building housing baggage scanning equipment. (Photo courtesy of Leo A. Daly)

TBIT’s reconfigured interiors will help eliminate long passenger check-in lines. (Photo courtesy of Leo A. Daly)

The project will also create new space for a large aircraft gate on the north end of the terminal concourse. Gate 123 can accommodate the eight-story-tall, double-decker Airbus A380, the largest passenger plane in production. The four-engine, superjumbo jet is designed to hold 525 to 853 passengers, depending upon its configuration. It can travel 8,200 nautical miles nonstop, or the equivalent of New York to Hong Kong.

“The A380 is tight on limit lines and has to fit at 45 degrees,” says Lou Palandrani, Clark/McCarthy’s project officer-in-charge. “Clearances are a problem with the runway widths and turning radius. It requires smoother, wider curves. It’s 9 ft longer than the largest 747.” The A380’s massive size entails supersizing everything from luggage carousels to ticket counters. The project will build a new double-decker terminal ramp that allows for simultaneous boarding and deplaning of the A-380.

Clark/McCarthy is jointly coordinating up to 450 tradespeople inside TBIT in two shifts throughout the day. It is using 60 superintendents and managers to oversee work occurring at seven locations inside the terminal.

The project has 30 phases with 12 milestones, each with liquidated damages. Clark/McCarthy has met all the milestones thus far, Palandrani says.

The complicated schedule is designed to minimize daily work disruptions at LAX. Thirty-four international airlines operate at TBIT, which handles 53% of LAX’s overall passenger volume.

TBIT interiors are being remodeled with energyefficient,recycled building products. (Image courtesy of LAX)

“We believe the multiphased scheduling, while protracting the construction period, will allow us to minimize delays to flight operations and passenger processing,” says David Shuter, LAWA’s deputy executive director for projects and facilities.

Clark/McCarthy has fostered a collaborative jobsite atmosphere among project participants by creating work units with team leaders at different locations throughout the terminal. Each unit has been empowered to communicate directly with the necessary parties in order to resolve problems and answer questions as they arise.

Clark/McCarthy is working on terminal segments as design schematics become available, turning over finished portions a piece at a time. The project’s anticipated completion is in the first quarter of 2010.