Airport News
The Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners, which approved the plan today, claims it will deliver a world-class transportation system to LAX.
The centrepiece of LAMP will be an Automated People Mover (APM) that will connect the Central Terminal Area (CTA) with a new Consolidated Rent-A-Car facility (CONRAC), stopping in between at new airport parking facilities and a station connecting to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) regional transit system.
According to Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), LAMP will further transform LAX into a world-class airport by relieving traffic congestion within the terminal area and on surrounding streets and improve access options and the travel experience for passengers.
The APM, which will be free of charge to all users, will consist of an elevated 2.25-mile-long guideway with six stations, pedestrian bridges to airport terminals, parking garages and fixed facilities.
The CONRAC will accommodate rental car agencies currently serving LAX at one convenient location adjacent to Interstate 405 San Diego Freeway.
Additional elements of LAMP include two Intermodal Transportation Facilities (east and west), as well as roadway improvements to enhance access to the proposed facilities.
LAWA has initiated the environmental review and clearance process for LAMP, and is collaborating with key agency and community stakeholders throughout the process.
Los Angeles Mayor, Eric Garcett, tasked LAWA with delivering LAMP no later than 2023, while controlling capital costs, minimising construction impacts on existing LAX operations, and cultivating opportunities for small and local businesses.
"We are one step closer to bringing rail to LAX and making it easier to get in and out of the airport – all while easing traffic in the surrounding neighbourhoods," said Mayor Garcetti.
"This $5-billion project adds to the continuous effort to transform LAX into the world-class airport Los Angeles deserves, and this strategy to deliver the automated train and rental car center will help us finish these projects on time and on budget."
After evaluating several different delivery methods, LAWA determined that the Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Maintain (DBFOM) method is best suited to deliver at least two elements of LAMP: the APM and CONRAC.
Proposed construction duration of the APM and CONRAC will be from 2017 to 2023.
The Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners will determine the delivery methods for the other elements of LAMP at a later date.
“The decision to utilise a delivery method that focuses on working hand in hand with the private sector will help drive innovation and quality, said Sean Burton, president of the Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners.
“This approach, unique to US airports, will create an exceptional guest experience and cement LAX’s competitiveness in the global aviation marketplace.”
Public agencies throughout the US and internationally have successfully used the DBFOM delivery method to build critical infrastructure projects, says LAWA.
In comparison to the design-bid-build delivery method, it insists that DBFOM can result in cost savings, greater cost control/cost certainty, schedule acceleration, increased access to private-sector innovation, an ability to transfer appropriate risks to the private sector, life-cycle efficiencies, fixed operations and maintenance payments for the life of the project, and reduced administrative costs.
“The DBFOM method allows for a process that benefits LAWA and is inclusive of our values; comprehensive environmental review, transparency with our communities, project labour agreements and participation opportunities for local and small businesses,” said Deborah Flint, executive director of LAWA.
“Today’s announcement of our preferred delivery method is reflective of a 21st century solution that will allow us to reach across the global, regional and local marketplace to bring the very best teams together to deliver a complex and innovative structure for one of the world’s busiest airports.”
