MEDIA JOIN MAYOR VILLARAIGOSA FOR “HARD HAT” TOUR OF LAX CONSTRUCTION Airport Officials Launch Public Education Effort “LAneXt™”
MEDIA JOIN MAYOR VILLARAIGOSA FOR “HARD HAT” TOUR OF LAX CONSTRUCTION
Airport Officials Launch Public Education Effort “LAneXt™”
(Los Angeles, California - January 24, 2012) Approaching the halfway mark of construction, media was invited today to join Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa and airport officials on a “hard hat” tour of the construction site of the New Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). During the tour, officials also announced the beginning of a public education effort to inform residents and travelers about the more than $4 billion in improvements currently taking place at LAX.
“All of the new construction ensures Los Angeles International Airport will put Angelenos back to work for years to come, remain competitive in the global market, and bring even more visitors to our great City,” said Mayor Villariagosa.
“What we are doing at LAX is historic—we are building the largest public works program in the City’s history and it could not come at a better time,” said Gina Marie Lindsey, executive director of Los Angeles World Airports, the City department that owns and operates LAX and two other Southern California airports. “During these difficult economic times, we are creating almost 40,000 local, direct and indirect,jobs through the various construction projects that are underway at LAX.”
The New Tom Bradley International Terminal (New TBIT) will provide 1,179,000 usable square feet and contain 45,000 tons of steel, enough to build five Eiffel Towers. It will be equipped with 18 new gates, nine of which will comfortably accommodate passenger loads for new-generation aircraft and a Great Hall for premier dining, retail shopping and airline lounges. The New TBIT is the “crown jewel” among nearly 25 projects in Phase 1 of the overall LAX capital improvement program to modernize both international and domestic terminals, as well as the airfield. Several segments of the LAX investment program, Phase 1, have been combined into the New TBIT element, bringing the total cost for that element to $1.7 billion. However, the total Phase 1 cost of the airport modernization program remains $4.1 billion.
During the tour, officials announced its new public education program, branded “LAneXt™,” that will inform residents and travelers about improvements taking place; and how these improvements are serving as a local economic stimulus. The public education effort includes an exciting and interactive website, as well as reaching out to residents all over Los Angeles through their newspapers and mailboxes. Residents will receive information about what is happening at LAX, when to expect improvements, and how they can personally benefit in the form of jobs and business opportunities.
“What is happening here is remarkable. But, it doesn’t do any of us any good unless people know about it. We want people to use this airport,” said LAWA’s Lindsey. “Tourism in Greater Los Angeles supports more than 437,000 jobs and brings in more than $14 billion annually. We need to tell people what we are doing so that the economies of the entire Los Angeles region benefit from all that is taking place at LAX.”
The various construction projects at LAX are being funded by a combination of revenue bonds, LAX operating revenues and capital improvement funds, passenger facility charges, airline capital for proprietary improvements, and federal grants from the Federal Aviation Administration (airfield improvements) and Transportation Security Administration (in-line baggage screening improvements). No monies from the Los Angeles City general fund are being used.
About Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is the sixth busiest airport in the world and third in the United States, offering more than 600 daily flights to 91 domestic cities and over 1,000 weekly nonstop flights to 56 cities in 32 countries on 75 air carriers. In 2010, LAX served over 59 million passengers, processed over 1.9 million tons of air cargo valued at nearly $80 billion, and handled 575,835 aircraft operations (landings and takeoffs). LAX is part of a system of three Southern California airports –
along with LA/Ontario International and Van Nuys general aviation – that are owned and operated by
Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), a proprietary department of the City of Los Angeles that receives no funding from the City’s general fund.
For more information about the capital improvements program at LAX, please visit www.la-next.com .
