LAX MODERNIZATION UPDATE: SEPTEMBER CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES EXPECTED TO CAUSE PASSENGER IMPACTS
(Los Angeles, California – September 1, 2016) The modernization of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) continues with more than $3 million spent each day on 25 major construction projects. Progress is happening! The construction, part of a multi-billion-dollar capital-improvement program underway throughout LAX, will result in a modern airport that significantly improves the overall guest experience for the modern traveler. Passengers using LAX in September will need to plan ahead to navigate sidewalk and vehicle lane closures and in-terminal work. Up-to-date construction alerts showing Central Terminal Area (CTA) roadway lane restrictions and sidewalk closures, as well as a pedestrian walking map and helpful airline terminal finder, can be found at www.laxishappening.com .
Roadway Impacts:
· Terminal 1 is located at the entrance to the airport, and during busy travel times such as early morning and mid-day, passenger drop-off causes traffic backups on the roads leading into the CTA, affecting access to all other terminals. Drivers may find it easier to drop off passengers between Terminals 1 and 2. The Upper/Departures Level barricade on the west end of Terminal 1 has been removed, although the drop-off lane is closed weeknights from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. due to construction of a canopy over the sidewalk. To avoid traffic congestion at LAX from early morning to 2 p.m., motorists are asked to use the Lower/Arrivals Level to drop off passengers, who can take elevators, escalators or stairs up to the departures level.
· The curbside lane between the Tom Bradley International Terminal and Terminal 4 on the Lower/Arrivals Level is closed nightly while work finishes on the Terminal 4 Connector.
· Redevelopment of Terminal 7 has closed a 135-foot section of the passenger drop-off area on the Upper/Departures Level, which will remain in place through September.
· Some sidewalks on the Lower/Arrivals Level are restricted while improvements are made in accordance with the Americans With Disabilities Act or due to work on elevator towers in the parking structures. Passengers and airport employees are asked to cross the roadways at marked crosswalks ONLY. There is also the potential for rotating lane closures on the Lower/Arrivals Level roadway nightly throughout the Central Terminal Area.
· The 24-hour lane closures on the Lower/Arrivals Level next to all parking structures have been removed to improve traffic flow. However, contractors may occasionally close the leftmost lane for landscaping improvements or to work on the structures’ elevators.
Terminal Construction/Renovation :
· Terminal 1: Phase 2 of Southwest Airlines’ $509-million Terminal 1 Renovation Project continues in the eastern part of the terminal, including the former check-in area, with barricades in place. The pedestrian bridge connecting Parking Structure 1 and the terminal is closed, with signs placed to direct passengers. While restrooms on the ticketing level are closed for renovation, temporary unisex restrooms have opened on the western side of the lobby. Passengers may also use restrooms located on the Lower/Arrivals Level or in the terminal beyond passenger security screening. Gate 13 has reopened while Gate 18B has closed for renovation. A new sit-down California Pizza Kitchen restaurant opened in late July near Gate 13. Westfield continues to phase the openings of new concessions, with a total of 24 to be installed through 2017.
· Terminal 2: LAWA’s $332-million Terminal 2 Modernization Project continues in the ticketing lobby, where barricades have split the airlines’ check-in operations. On the Lower/Arrivals Level, all baggage carousels are now in operation. A service-animal relief area is open near Gate 22. All Terminal 2 construction is scheduled for completion in 2018.
· Terminal 3: A service-animal relief area is open in the courtyard beyond Gate 30. Smoking is not allowed in this area. Angel City Brewery, Peet’s Coffee and Blue Window LA, a café, have opened near Gate 30, and Point The Way Café has opened in the former US Airways lounge, adding to the food and beverage choices in the terminal.
· Terminal 4 Connector: Passengers can use the Terminal 4 Connector to walk between the south side Terminals 4-8 and the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT).
· Terminal 6: American Airlines has moved its American Eagle operation from Terminal 4 to Terminal 6. Passengers board buses at Gate 60 and travel to the “Eagle’s Nest,” the on-airfield location of Gates 60-A through 60-I. Arriving passengers will pick up their luggage in Terminal 6. Also, a service-animal relief area is open in the atrium just beyond Gate 62. Smoking is not allowed in this area.
· Terminals 7/8: United Airlines is continuing work on its $573-million Terminal 7/8 Renovation Project that is scheduled for completion in December 2017. Access to Terminal 7 is through a walkway near Gate 71A, which has reopened. Gates 70A and 71B have reopened. Gate 73 is closed for renovations through October. United’s Baggage Service Office and Baggage Carousel 3 are closed while a new carousel is built and the office is upgraded. New restrooms have opened on the Lower/Arrivals Level. The elevated walkway to Parking Structure 7 is closed – access to the parking structure is available from the Lower/Arrivals Level. Keep in mind that Terminals 7 and 8 can be reached using East Way, a short-cut between the north and south terminals that eliminates the need to travel through the entire Central Terminal Area.
Sidewalk/Walkway/Parking Structure Restrictions and Closures :
· As part of the Terminal 1 Renovation Project, portions of the sidewalk on the Upper/Departures Level will be closed through 2017 with pedestrians routed around barricaded areas. Overnight work on the canopy system will require the closure of the sidewalk at the western end of the terminal on the Upper/Departures Level from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. weeknights. Pedestrians will be detoured into the drop-off lane.
· Work to upgrade elevators in Parking Structure 1 will close a portion of the sidewalk on the Lower/Arrivals Level. Once work has been completed on the elevators in the West Tower, they will reopen and work will begin to update the elevators in the East Tower.
· Work on the west side elevators in Parking Structure 3 has temporarily closed a portion of the sidewalk. There is a detour in place to lead passengers safely to the crosswalk to reach the terminal. Signs are also posted to re-route passengers to other elevators in the parking structure.
· A portion of the sidewalk on the north side of the Tom Bradley International Terminal is closed during construction of a full-service Planet Hollywood restaurant that will open later this year inside the terminal.
· The two elevators in the South Tower at Parking Structure 4 are out of service while upgrades are finishing in September. Two other pairs of elevators remain in service.
· Upgrades to the elevator tower in Parking Structure 5 will reduce service to one elevator at a time through January.
· The two elevators in the West Tower at Parking Structure 6 are out of service until the middle of the month while upgrade work is in progress.
· A bump-out sidewalk exists on the Upper/Departures Level at Terminal 7 while the sidewalk is widened. A 175-foot-long barricade exists along the easternmost sidewalk on the Upper/Departures Level of Terminals 7/8 through 2017.
· Landscaping around Parking Structures 3 and 4 may result in sidewalk restrictions. Signs will be posted when necessary.
Please note that all the dates provided in this notice are subject to change.
Traffic alerts and current airport conditions are posted on LAX’s social media sites at www.Facebook/com/LAInternationalAirport and www.Twitter.com/flyLAXairport . A construction hotline at (310) 649-LAWA or (310) 649-5292 is also available. Real-time traffic conditions in and around the airport are available at www.laxishappening.com and by following @LAAirportPDon Twitter.
Airport officials are asking motorists to help reduce traffic congestion in and around LAX by taking public transportation to and from LAX, including the inexpensive and convenient FlyAway® bus service to and from Hollywood, Long Beach, Metro Orange Line Bus stop (in San Fernando Valley), Santa Monica, Union Station, Van Nuys and Westwood. If picking up passengers, motorists are encouraged to park and wait at the free LAX Cell Phone Waiting Lot at the intersection of 96th Street and Vicksburg Avenue, next to the entrance of LAX Economy Parking Lot C.
About Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
LAX is the seventh busiest airport in the world and third in the United States. LAX served more than 74.9 million passengers in 2015. LAX offers 742 daily nonstop flights to 101 cities in the U.S. and 1,273 weekly nonstop flights to 76 cities in 41 countries on 64 commercial air carriers. LAX ranks 14th in the world and fifth in the U.S. in air cargo tonnage processed, with more than 2.1 million tons of air cargo valued at over $101.4 billion. An economic study based on 2014 operations reported LAX generated 620,610 jobs in Southern California with labor income of $37.3 billion and economic output (business revenues) of more than $126.6 billion. This activity added $6.2 billion to local and state revenues and $8.7 billion in federal tax revenues. The study also reported that LAX’s ongoing capital-improvement program creates an additional 121,640 annual jobs with labor income of $7.6 billion and economic output of $20.3 billion, $966 million in state and local taxes, and $1.6 billion in federal tax revenues.
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, a proprietary department of the City of Los Angeles that receives no funding from the City’s general fund.
For more information about LAX, please visit www.lawa.aero/lax or follow on Twitter @flyLAXAirport, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LAInternationalAirport , and on YouTube at www.YouTube.com/laxairport1 . Information about LAX’s ongoing multi-billion-dollar LAX Modernization Program, as well as tips and shortcuts to help navigate LAX during construction, are available at www.LAXisHappening.com .
As a covered entity under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of Los Angeles does not discriminate on the basis of disability and, upon request, will provide reasonable accommodation to ensure equal access to its programs, services, and activities. Alternative formats in large print, braille, audio, and other forms (if possible) will be provided upon request.
