--- In BATN@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "1/21 Contra Costa Times" <batn@xxxx> wrote: Published Wednesday, January 21, 2004, in the Contra Costa Times Changes ahead for Oakland airport By Guy Ashley Contra Costa Times OAKLAND -- United Airlines decision to abandon its massive maintenance hangar next to Oakland International Airport is spurring airport officials to consider significant changes to the $1.5 billion expansion plan. The shuttered hangar has opened about 40 acres of land on the north side of the airport, and airport officials are thinking seriously of placing a third terminal for international flights there and abandoning a plan to raise their two terminals into two-tiered structures. "When the facility was abandoned it freed up all kinds of property to do things differently," said Steve Grossman, aviation director for the Port of Oakland, which operates the airport. United pulled out of the maintenance hangar last May, taking the 1,000 employees who worked there to San Francisco International Airport in a cost-saving move that followed the airline's bankruptcy filing. Grossman said the change makes it highly likely that Port officials in the coming months will discard an expansion plan that would have modeled the airport's upgraded terminals after those at SFO, two- level facilities served by a double-deck roadway. Instead, he said he "would not be surprised" to see a third terminal for international flights on the former United property, a scenario that would preclude the need to build additional tiers on top of the two existing terminals. "It may be that we can separate traffic on a single level road, which could end up saving us hundreds of millions of dollars," Grossman said. "And if we don't have to build on top of the two terminals any more, that again could save us hundreds of millions of dollars. Questions about design will be left for a master-plan study to be launched later this year. As it is, the airport is slated to embark in March on construction of the first phase of expansion, a program that calls for upgrades to its bustling south terminal and creation of a new seven-story parking garage in front of the two terminals. The projects reflect a strategic change airport officials embarked on in 2002, as post-Sept. 11 security mandates ran headlong into economic doldrums. These factors forced port officials to break the expansion project into phases, to address the airport's most glaring needs first while putting off other aspects of the expansion plan. The first phase focuses on expanding the airport's south terminal to accommodate Oakland's largest carrier, Southwest Airlines. The project will add a new concourse onto the south end of the building with seven new gates for airplanes, 10 security checkpoints and an expanded ticket counter. Port officials last week reached a tentative $109 million deal with Turner Construction of Dallas to be the project's lead contractor. Turner is also negotiating with the port on a price to build the parking structure. Officials hope the first-phase projects are done by the beginning of 2007. Airport officials then hope to begin the remaining phases of the expansion plan, which probably will be redefined by the coming master study. These followup phases will probably require environmental studies in addition to the Environmental Impact Report completed last year on the expansion, Grossman said. The airport's expansion is deemed essential as Oakland tries to maintain steady passenger growth and its image as an easy-to-reach alternative to SFO. Oakland is one of the few airports in the country to maintain growth as the aviation industry has faltered. Preliminary data indicate that about 13.6 million passengers used Oakland last year, up 7 percent from 2002. The airport was built to handle about 8 million passengers, airport spokeswoman Cyndy Johnson said. But the airport's reputation for easy access off Interstate 880 has been challenged over the past year by a $115 million project to widen its 98th Avenue approach. That project is expected to be completed next month. --- End forwarded message ---