[Tom Bradley terminal via Curbed flickr pool member shiner.clay]
This morning Mayor Villaraigosa unveiled another modernization plan for LAX, an airport not touched up in 24 years, reports Dan Weikel in the Los Angeles Times. The Tom Bradley International Terminal will be rebuilt with new gates for jumbo jets (like the planes that take you to Dubai without a connection) and a grand central hall of restaurants and shopping that could put LAX on par with Heathrow's amenities; right now, LAX's flourishes are about as exciting as Phoenix's. There should also be a concourse with new gates that connect to Bradley via a sky bridge.
A people mover—think, a mini-public transit system that ferries flyers around the far corners of the airport—is also on the agenda. (One could wager the mover could one day connect to a Green Line extension now that Measure R looks like a done deal.) This makeover comes in at around $5.5 billion with a finish date of 2013. More via the Associated Press: "The design concepts, created by Fentress Architects, were inspired by the Pacific Ocean and show roof tops that resemble crashing waves. The arches of LAX's iconic Theme Building also are incorporated in the designs." As the AP notes, the city has "spent than $250 million over the past 15 years developing airport modernization plans backed by Villaraigosa and two of his predecessors, Roger Johnson, a deputy executive director at LAX, told the Daily Breeze."
· Villaraigosa unveils modernization plan for LAX [Los Angeles Times]
Loading comments...