Automated People Mover (APM)

COST: $3.34 billion

CONSTRUCTION START: 2019

OPENING: Second half 2026.

CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTOR TEAM: LAX Integrated Express Solutions, or LINXS, a joint venture consisting of Fluor Corp. (Irving, Texas), Balfour Beatty (London), Grupo ACS (Madrid) and Alstom (train car provider headquartered in Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine, France)

DESIGN TEAM: HDR (Omaha, Nebraska), HNTB (Kansas City)

Consolidated Rent-A-Car Facility (CONRAC)

COST: $2 billion, of which about $1 billion was for main construction.

CONSTRUCTION START: 2019

OPENING: Second half 2026

CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTOR: PCL Construction (Edmonton, Alberta)

DESIGN TEAM: PGAL (Houston), AC Martin (Downtown Los Angeles)

It’s been a two-year wait, but officials with Los Angeles World Airports are now saying that the massive transformation of ground access to Los Angeles International Airport will likely happen next year.

The centerpiece of the transformation – and the part of the overhaul that’s been holding things up – is the $3.34 billion automated people mover. The 2.2-mile train route starts with three stations in the central terminal area, then heads east, connecting with stations at the Economy Parking Lot structure, the recently completed Metro Airport Connector train station and a consolidated rental car facility. When operating, passengers will be able to get from the central terminal area to the car rental facility in about 10 minutes.

When the contract to build the automated people mover was signed in 2018, the train was supposed to be operational by the end of 2023. But the project has been hit with multiple delays, starting with heavy rains and then the Covid-19 pandemic. It also was held up by disputes between Los Angeles World Airports and the joint venture team known as LAX Integrated Solutions, or LINXS, that holds the construction contract. Most recently, the project has been largely stuck at 95% completion as another dispute has apparently cropped up between LAWA and LINXS. The main work left centers around train testing and checking the electrical systems.

As a result of this latest delay, the people mover project is unlikely to be fully operational in time for next summer’s FIFA World Cup. The expectation is that passenger operation will begin in the second half of the year.

The other major piece of this transformation set to open next year is the Consolidated Rent-a-Car facility, known as CONRAC. As its name implies, this 6.4 million-square-foot building will centralize about two dozen rental car operators that are currently scattered around the Westchester neighborhood and El Segundo near LAX.Similar facilities have been built at several airports around the country.According to LAWA officials, the CONRAC is the second-largest concrete building structure in the nation, behind the Pentagon.

Besides simplifying things tremendously for arriving passengers looking to rent a vehicle, this facility will also eliminate the need for scores of rental car shuttles that currently clog up the central terminal area. The outer structure of the CONRAC has been completed for more than a year. The major work now is being carried out inside by the individual rental car operators building out their spaces. The new facility is slated to come online simultaneously with the automated people mover.

These are only two of the biggest of a multitude of projects in progress or recently completed as part of the $30-billion overhaul of LAX. Hundreds of millions of dollars of roadway construction and realignments have been in the works, with the aim of improving vehicular access to the Economy Parking Lot, the CONRAC and other facilities.

Meanwhile, in the terminal and airfield area, last month was significant. The $421 million Midfield Satellite Concourse South terminal extension to what’s now called the West Gates of the Tom Bradley International Terminal opened last month. The new concourse adds eight gates for narrowbody aircraft. At the same time, Terminal 5 was shut down in preparation for a complete rebuilding. The shutdown forced the relocation of operations for American Airlines, JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines.

Demolition of Terminal 5 is expected to begin by yearend or early 2026. The main phase of the $1.7 billion rebuilding project gets underway during 2026. The aim is to have the terminal ready by late 2027, in time for the 2028 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.