Archinect - News

LAX Automated People Mover set to start service in January 2026

2024-07-19T17:57:00-04:00

The ever-moving public opening of the long-awaited Automated People Mover transit system at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) has been given a new target of January 2026. The $2 billion project, which had recently been delayed until the end of next year, now expects construction to wrap up on December 8, 2025. The announcement was made Thursday by The Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners and caps a string of setbacks that have prevented it from realizing its originally targeted 2023 opening.

HDR is listed as the lead designer for the project. Once in operation trains will carry an estimated 30 million passengers annually, reducing the need for motor vehicle traffic to the airport by about 42 million cars. It forms a critical component of the $5.5 billion Landside Access Modernization Program (LAM), which includes the new Midfield Satellite Concourse expansion by Woods Bagot.

LAX Automated People Mover construction won't be completed until 2025

2024-04-01T11:45:00-04:00

KTLA is reporting that construction setbacks on the long-awaited Automated People Mover transit system at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) have delayed the project until at least the end of 2025.

According to the local outlet’s analysis of a new Fitch Ratings report, “The Automated People Mover system is 96% complete but increasing construction delays and a ‘strained relationship’ between the contractor and Los Angeles World Airports, which owns and operates LAX, have kept it from being completed.”

The news comes after five years of construction on the $5.5 billion transportation component of the airport’s larger $14.5 billion first phase of upgrades. Completion was originally expected last year. Once it is finished, the 1.2-million-square-foot station will connect the rest of the 2.25-mile-long tract to Terminals 3, 4, and 5 and form the bookend of a system that will serve approximately 30 million people a year.

Related on Archinect: Final LAX Automated People Mover statio...

Feds dole out $1 billion to get the Inglewood Transit Connector moving in LA's South Bay

2024-01-08T19:15:00-05:00

The planned Inglewood Transit Connector (ITC) in the Los Angeles area is moving forward thanks to a recent $1.09 billion investment by the federal government that will help deliver the 1.6-mile automated people mover to the rapidly changing South Bay district.

Once in place, the ITC will connect the neighborhood’s most important recent economic cogs, including SoFi Stadium and the soon-to-open Intuit Dome, with the Metro line while serving a maximum of 11,000 riders per hour. The design contractor for the project's implementation will be selected later in the year.

"This action delivers on the promise of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support communities whose transit infrastructure has been neglected for too long and who have been impacted negatively by the construction of major freeways like the I-405 in Inglewood," Senator Alex Padilla said at the announcement.

Image courtesy City of Inglewood

"For the federal government to make a $1 billion investment in a city of 9 square...

Woods Bagot's LAX Midfield Satellite Concourse South expansion has broken ground

2023-07-13T16:42:00-04:00

A groundbreaking ceremony held in late June marks the official start of work on the LAX Midfield Satellite Concourse South project, an expansion of the recently-opened West Gates at Tom Bradley International Terminal.

The Woods Bagot-designed $400 million MSC South project will add 150,000 square feet, spread across eight gates and two stories, to LAX. It forms part of Los Angeles World Airport’s (LAWA), the airport authority that owns and operates the airport, $14.5 billion capital investment improvement project, which includes terminal renovations, the construction of new ground transportation hubs, and an automated people mover system.

Aerial view of site. Image courtesy of Woods Bagot.

MSC South’s construction will utilize what the architects describe as a first-of-its-kind technique, where its building components will be built offsite and then delivered to the location for assembly.

The new concourse will have an L-shaped layout with an exterior brise soleil that will reduce glare and solar radiation while maximizing outdoor views. The design also draws inspiration from LA’s modernist homes. The project is grounded in sustainable practices as it aims for LEED Silver certification. Completion...

LAX's Automated People Mover reaches another construction milestone ahead of 2023 completion

2022-12-13T18:28:00-05:00

Another milestone has been reached in the ongoing Automated People Mover (APM) project at Los Angeles International Airport after the last structural steel elements near the historic Theme Building have been installed.

The 180-ton final piece serves as a base for the new viewing pavilion and is connected to the APM's East Central Terminal Area (CTA) station. Most of the decking, glass panels, and roofing elements of the APM's six pedestrian bridges have now also been installed, leaving only metal ceiling and electrical components of their construction left before completion.

Image courtesy Los Angeles World Airports

"The viewing pavilion is a major milestone for the APM as it marks the completion of the project's largest construction efforts," Sam Choy, the Project Director for LINXS Constructors, explained in a news release. It joins the recently-completed final West Central Terminal Area station and pedestrian bridge for the $5.5 billion project, which will be fully completed nex...

Final LAX Automated People Mover station tops out

2022-08-24T18:46:00-04:00

The 2,000-ton final structural piece of Los Angeles International Airport’s new Automated People Mover stations project is in place after the conclusion of its six-month construction phase was announced last week by Balfour Beatty, as part of LINXS Constructors.

A total of 127 piles were needed to complete West Central Terminal Area (CTA) station, the last and largest of six stations, which will be connected to Tom Bradley International Terminal via a pedestrian bridge that’s slated for placement in the fall. Once complete, the 1.2-million-square-foot station will connect the rest of the 2.25-mile-long tract to Terminals 3, 4, and 5 and form the bookend of a system that will serve approximately 30 million people a year.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Balfour Beatty US (@balfourbeatty_us)

“Topping out the final station at the West Central Terminal Area signifies our team’s progress in providing a revolutionary travel experience for worldwide passenger...

LAX’s modernization project is starting to come together

2022-01-05T13:58:00-05:00

The airport's $5.5-billion Landside Access Modernization Program, or "LAMP," saw the completion of several of its major components in 2021, as well as construction milestones for the automated people mover that will serve as its centerpiec

Among the more important elements of the highly-publicized program, the Automated People Mover (AMP) system, is now 67% complete, according to Urbanize. This includes a new Metro station and elevated monorail track, which is reportedly 87% complete. A new car rental facility adjacent to the airport and 405 freeway is also 77% complete.

Additional renovations are expected to bring the total cost to approximately $14.5 billion and are slated for completion ahead of the city’s turn as host of the 2028 Olympic Games. Urbanize Los Angeles has more on the upgrades here.

LAX Automated People Mover development consortium hits major milestone

2021-07-02T16:33:00-04:00

An international consortium of engineering, construction, and infrastructure development firms has begun work on Los Angeles International Airport’s (LAX) Automated People Mover (APM) project.

The team, named LAX Integrated Express Solutions (LINXS), is led by experienced public-private partnership developers and equity investors, including Fluor Enterprises, Balfour Beatty Investments, Hochtief PPP Solutions GmbH, ACS Infrastructure Development, and Bombardier Transportation. LINXS has also enlisted the services of construction engineering company Flatiron West, along with fellow ACS Group subsidiary company Dragados and American design firm HDR.

The APM project is the centerpiece of the Los Angeles World Airport’s (LAWA), the airport authority that owns and operates LAX, Landside Access Modernization Program (LAMP), a $5.5 billion project that aims to relieve congestion and enhance traveler experience at LAX. LAMP is part of a $14 billion facilities upgrade at LAX to help facili...

New LAX Airport Metro Connector station expected to break ground this fall

2021-05-03T12:37:00-04:00

A vote taken last week by the Metro Board of Directors approved a nearly $900 million budget for the long-awaited rail link to LAX, setting the stage for work to begin for the new light rail station in coming months. The Airport Metro Connector, planned for a 9.5-acre site at the intersection of Aviation Boulevard and 96th Streets, will connect Metro's Crenshaw/LAX and Green (C) Lines with the airport's new automated people mover system.

Grimshaw Architects is in charge of the station's design. It will include: a 16-bay bus plaza with capacity for charging infrastructure, a multi-level active transportation and bike hub, a vehicle drop-off zone, a customer service center, public toilet facilities beyond the fare paid zone, commercial space, and a sculpture by Los Angeles artist Glenn Kaino.

Early site work for the Airport Metro Connector station is reportedly expected to begin in May. Following that, a full construction contract is scheduled to be granted in Summer 2021, which would allow for the station to officially break ground in the Fall.

Construction of the new station will likely overlap with the launch of the currently under-construction Crenshaw/LAX line. This would mark another setback for the line, which was originally expected to open in 2019.

The Airport Metro Connector station’s nearly $900 million budget is a more than $260 million increase from a previous estimate of $637 million. Construction of ...

LAX releases new expansion details

2020-11-03T16:35:00-05:00

Construction could begin by the end of 2021 on the initial phases of an expansion project which could bring new passenger gates to Los Angeles International Airport. The LAX Airfield and Terminal Modernization Project, according to an environmental study published on October 29 by Los Angeles World Airports, calls for an extension of Terminal 1 onto an adjoining surface parking lot.

Los Angeles International Airport, the world's fourth busiest airport during pre-pandemic levels, has released more details on its ambitious expansion goals.

In March of 2019, LAX already started work on its $4.9bn Automated People Mover system.

LAX breaks ground on its new $4.9bn Automated People Mover

2019-03-14T13:42:00-04:00

A groundbreaking ceremony will be held Thursday for the 2.25-mile Automated People Mover at Los Angeles International Airport, which aims to cut down on auto traffic traveling in and out of the airport, officials announced Monday. The project has a targeted opening date of 2023.

Rendering of the people mover train above the terminal loop.

Earlier this morning, LA Mayor Eric Garcetti and other city officials celebrated the kick-off of what will be one of the most significant upgrades to Los Angeles International Airport—an elevated Automated People Mover system that will carry passengers among terminals and finally create an ample connection to the regional light rail system and the brand new consolidated rent-a-car facility.

The nearly $5 billion project is expected to bring much-needed congestion relief now that LAX has taken the title of fourth busiest airport in the world (serving a whopping 87.5 million passengers in 2018) and is projected to welcome even more guests when Los Angeles will host the 2028 Summer Olympics and Paralympics.

LAX announces consortium to build its new $4.9bn monorail system

2018-06-13T14:03:00-04:00

Bombardier Rail Technologies, ACS Infrastructure Development, Balfour Beatty, Fluor Enterprises and HOCHTIEF PPP Solutions North America have all been chosen to deliver a $4.9bn project to design, build and install an automated people mover system at Los Angeles International Airport. [...] The system will run on a 3.6km elevated dual-lane guideway and will serve six newly-built stations, creating connections between the airport, public and private transportation, and a new car rental facility.