Los Angeles International Airport’s (LAX) US$1.6bn midfield satellite concourse and baggage-handling project is on track for completion one year after breaking ground at the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT).
The concourse is set to span 750,000ft² (69,677m²), with the installation of the structural steel starting last summer. The framework of the new building extends across the entire northern portion of the concourse, and work is expected to start on the building’s core and a small south component in spring of this year.
Sections of the roof have already been installed, escalator installations have begun, and concrete has been placed to form the concourse’s floors. Construction has also begun on the passenger tunnel interface at the terminal, which will include the elevators and escalators to access the passenger tunnel.
Two tunnels that will connect the new building to the TBIT– one for guests and one for equipment – are also nearing completion. The tunnels will travel under the taxiways between the buildings, meaning they are being built in two segments. The first segments – under Taxiway T – have been completed, and the taxiway is being rebuilt. Once that work is completed, building tunnels under Taxiway S will start.
The new state-of-the-art system that will come online in 2020 will allow the processing of more than 6,000 bags an hour.