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 facilitate better connectivity between the airport and Los Angeles’ mass transit options. This massive undertaking comes as the city gears up to host the 2028 Olympics. 

The LAX APM is a 2.25-mile, elevated guideway train system with six stations, three inside the central terminal area and three outsides, that will connect the Los Angeles Metro Rail, a consolidated car rental facility, and two intermodal transportation facilities, to the airport terminals. The APM is set to be completed in 2023. 

Construction of an elevated pedestrian walkway as part of the APM project has begun. In February, a previous pedestrian bridge connecting LAX’s Terminal 2 to a parking structure had been removed to make way for the APM. More recently, partially prefabricated steel trusses have been reportedly transported into the area, assembled, and lifted into a new pedestrian bridge. The installation of floor and roof beams will complete the erection of structural steel for the walkway. In total, six bridges will be constructed. 

“The start of construction of this pedestrian walkway follows a tremendous amount of enabling work, planning and coordination,” said LINXS Constructors’ project director, Sharon Gookin. “Having these steel trusses in place serves as a meaningful milestone for the APM project and a testament to the continued efforts of the APM team to bring the vision of a transformed LAX to fruition.”