=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/c/a/2006/11/15/BUGPGMCI3I= 1.DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday, November 15, 2006 (SF Chronicle) Expansion project/Oakland airport adds gates, plans for growth Ryan Kim, Chronicle Staff Writer Oakland International Airport officials unveiled four new gates at the airport's second terminal on Tuesday, part of a major renovation effort to expand the building to keep up with projected passenger growth. The gates are part of a $300 million improvement project that will inclu= de three additional gates and an expanded security checkpoint and ticket counter area in Terminal 2, all of which should be completed by spring. The overall expansion, the first in more than two decades, is scheduled = to be completed in 2008, giving the terminal an additional 108,000 square feet and six more gates, after sacrificing one to make way for expansion of the concourse. Oakland's airport has been one of the positive stories in the Bay Area transportation scene. While other airports saw business fall after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, Oakland continued to grow rapidly as a hub for discount carriers. The number of passengers using the airport annually jumped from 10.6 million in 2000 to 14.3 million in 2004. Since then, though, passenger growth has slowed to a crawl, with projections showing about 14.4 million passengers using the airport this year. Steven Grossman, the Port of Oakland's aviation director, attributed the stall to the airport's limited capacity. "We are behind the curve on capacity," he said. "Today this project is absolutely necessary." Grossman said the expansion, which includes a baggage claim area complet= ed in May, will allow the airport to keep pace with increased demand. He said the airport initially was designed to serve 8 million people a year but has been forced to increase efficiency to accommodate more. "We're No. 1 in efficiency. I don't think there is anyone else that push= es as many people through their gates as much as we have," Grossman said. "It wasn't planned, but that's the way it is." The new gates, however, won't result in expanded capacity right away. That's because the openings allow airport officials to begin renovation work on gates 23 to 26, which should be completed by April. The airport is also undertaking a much-needed renovation of the aprons, the parking areas for planes adjacent to the terminal. Crews will take three to four gates out of service at a time to reconstruct the aprons, a task that will be completed in spring 2008. A final component of the project involves expanding the parking area in front of the terminals to create an additional 500 to 600 spaces by the end of summer. The extra space was made possible by the opening of a roadway to the airport last month. Port officials say that has eliminated the immediate need for a proposed seven-story parking garage. On Tuesday, airport officials led reporters on a tour of the expanded Terminal 2 concourse. The longer walkway features a 160-foot mural by Oakland artist Hung Liu, the first to be installed as part of the Port of Oakland's new public art policy. The first flights were scheduled to use the new gates Tuesday night. Southwest Airlines, which wants to add more flights out of Oakland, will be the big beneficiary from the Terminal 2 expansion. The airline, which now uses 11 gates, will have four more, enough to handle more than 150 flights a day. "We are extremely pleased that this expansion renovation is taking place= ," said Marilee McInnis, a Southwest Airlines spokeswoman. "We're a growth airline and we want to grow, but we have been constrained by space in Oakland." According to Grossman, the completed project will allow the airport to serve 17 million to 18 million passengers. Eventually, the airport plans a third terminal to expand capacity. The $1 billion plan, which port officials will consider in the spring, includes 20 gates, which would allow the airport to handle up to up to 30 million passengers annually. "Oakland is on the move," said Darlene Ayers-Johnson, vice president of the Board of Port Commissioners. "The terminals are busting at the seams. With this expansion, we can begin moving more people through quicker and smoother." E-mail Ryan Kim at rkim@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx -------------------------------= --------------------------------------- Copyright 2006 SF Chronicle