=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SFGate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/n/a/2006/10/09/state/n114= 801D97.DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday, October 9, 2006 (AP) LAX terminal overhaul would be largest contract in city history By CHRISTINA ALMEIDA, Associated Press Writer (10-09) 11:48 PDT Los Angeles (AP) -- It's been more than 20 years since the last major construction project at Los Angeles International Airport, the world's fifth busiest for passenger traffic. A $575 million contract being considered Tuesday by the City Council wou= ld hire general contractor Clark/McCarthy to revamp the airport's Tom Bradley terminal, home to 33 international carriers and a key juncture for 10 million passengers a year. It would be the largest contract awarded for a single project in city history. "It's a gateway to Los Angeles, a gateway to America for a lot of people= ," said Councilman Bill Rosendahl, who oversees the district that includes LAX. "There are a lot of people committed to making it happen." The renovations will be funded largely by airline rates and charges, with substantial federal grants. The price tag includes $72 million to cover unexpected costs. The last major upgrade at the airport was when the Bradley Terminal was first built for the 1984 Olympics. The new project will help spruce up the tired, 1-million-square-foot complex and move bulky security equipment out of view. Large Transportation Security Administration screening machines now dominate the departures lobby and take up valuable ticket counter space. The new baggage handling system will boost processing capacity from 1,200 bags an hour to more than 4,000 and will include a fully automated sorting system. There will be new air conditioning, lighting and plumbing systems, elevators and VIP lounges. Rosendahl said he wants the project to be environmentally friendly and he has received support from Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who has been pushing a citywide "green" building initiative. "The upgrades will improve customer service so travelers' first and last impressions of our great city will be positive ones that will make them want to return," Villaraigosa said in a statement embracing the project. Money will be included to modify a second gate to handle the new Airbus A380 — the world's biggest passenger jet. One gate is already being remodeled, and once finished the two will accommodate dual loading of Boeing's new 747 jumbo jet. The project will be challenging with about 250 workers on site each day, airport officials said, and construction will be done in phases since operations will not be reduced. "This is going to be the most difficult, most complicated project at a U.S. airport," project engineer Van C. Thompson said. Construction is slated to begin in January and take 38 months to complet= e. It will coincide with a $333 million project under way to relocate one of the airport's four runways to increase plane safety on the airfield. That project will allow the airport to make improvements so LAX can hand= le the new generation of superjumbo jets. Two daily flights by the Airbus A380 are scheduled to begin next year. ___ On the Net: www.lawa.org -----------------------------------------------------------= ----------- Copyright 2006 AP