Pete
12-16-2005, 07:11 AM
This is the project that will never end... Will be well over six years of construction and what do you bet "summer" means October at the earliest?
How about setting a date and sticking to it? Yes, there have been needed changes due to security (athough I doubt that has much to do with much of the delays) but those are now incorporated in the design and they should be able to set a firm completion date and be held to it.
As a side note, the airport website hasn't been updated in over two months now.
****************************
Construction work on final approach at Will Rogers airport
By Julie Bisbee
The Oklahoman
The plywood-covered walkways are gone from the main terminal of Will Rogers World Airport. So are most of the dust and noise.
With few obvious signs, construction at the airport continues and is expected to be completed by summer.
Design changes after the 2001 terrorist attacks, unexpected obstacles in construction and flux in the airline industry caused the airport’s completion date to be bumped from December to summer 2006.
“It’s been frustrating,” Mayor Mick Cornett said. “I think a lot of the delay was from the security precautions that had to be put in place. Renovating an airport at the same time you are operating it seems pretty daunting, and I think it’s been done as well as it could have been.”
People who traveled through the airport in the spring might remember covered walkways and being rerouted outside to get to ticket counters and gates. Now most of the construction is confined to the far east end of the terminal, and workers are putting the finishing touches on three gates that are expected to open in February.
Two baggage claims, three ticket counters and a second security checkpoint also will be added in the eastern concourse, said Karen Carney, spokeswoman for Will Rogers World Airport.
Completing the airport project has been difficult as crews crack into the old part of the terminal built in 1967 and find lead-based paint and asbestos to remove. All this has to be done in a way that doesn’t disrupt travelers.
“I’ve been doing construction for 28 years, and I’ve never been involved in a more complex and complicated project as this one,” said Jerry Ennis, president of southern operations for Boldt Co., which is doing the construction work.
As workers do the last bit of work, Ennis is confident the project will be completed on time. “I can see the light at the end of the tunnel for the first time in four years,” Ennis said.
When the contract for the terminal renovations was awarded in November 2001, airport officials were grappling with security changes brought on by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The terrorist attacks meant every bag needed to be screened for explosives. Passengers had to be patted down and checked for dangerous items and access to the gates had to be limited.
“The security requirements changed, and we evolved as we were building,” said Tom Gunning, vice president of Benham Cos. and project manager during the design phase. “We needed to change the amount of queuing space, the space needed to screen passengers and we also saw increased security in the baggage space.”
In the first year of construction, airport officials also saw the numbers of travelers decrease. Then it became difficult to decide how the airport should be changed - would travelers come back and would the numbers return to pre-9/11 levels?
“We didn’t anticipate a slowdown in growth and passenger travel dropping off,” Gunning said. “Now it’s growing again and has been for several years. At the same time, many airlines have been restructured, and we’ve had to adapt how they would function at the airport.”
The renovated airport has boosted Oklahoma City’s image at a time when national media and sports figures are using the airport since the Hornets relocated here after Hurricane Katrina hit their home city of New Orleans.
“I’ve had first-hand accounts of that,” Cornett said. “At the press conference when we announced the Hornets were coming, head coach Byron Scott said he was very impressed with what he saw of the city. It’s the first impression people have with the city.”
Travelers are paying for the improvements. The renovations have been paid for by bonds, and passenger facilities charges are repaying the debt. The fees are tacked on to the price of an airline ticket. Passengers flying out of Oklahoma City pay $3 in charges. The money can only be used for airport improvement projects.
Timeline
• April 1998: Terminal planning study completed.
• March 2000: Phase 1 of construction begins. Includes widening approaches and departure roadways, adds escalator station in parking garage.
• February 2002: Construction on terminal begins.
• June 2003: New west concourse, ticket lobby and baggage claim open. Concourse includes 11 new gates, stores and eateries.
• April: Gates for Southwest Airlines opens. Food court opens.
• May: Plaza garden completed, bronze Will Rogers statute dedicated.
• June: Tunnel from parking garage opens, center escalators open, presecurity retail opens.
• September: Southwest and United Airlines move into new gates and baggage claim areas.
• Summer 2006: Airport to be completed.
How about setting a date and sticking to it? Yes, there have been needed changes due to security (athough I doubt that has much to do with much of the delays) but those are now incorporated in the design and they should be able to set a firm completion date and be held to it.
As a side note, the airport website hasn't been updated in over two months now.
****************************
Construction work on final approach at Will Rogers airport
By Julie Bisbee
The Oklahoman
The plywood-covered walkways are gone from the main terminal of Will Rogers World Airport. So are most of the dust and noise.
With few obvious signs, construction at the airport continues and is expected to be completed by summer.
Design changes after the 2001 terrorist attacks, unexpected obstacles in construction and flux in the airline industry caused the airport’s completion date to be bumped from December to summer 2006.
“It’s been frustrating,” Mayor Mick Cornett said. “I think a lot of the delay was from the security precautions that had to be put in place. Renovating an airport at the same time you are operating it seems pretty daunting, and I think it’s been done as well as it could have been.”
People who traveled through the airport in the spring might remember covered walkways and being rerouted outside to get to ticket counters and gates. Now most of the construction is confined to the far east end of the terminal, and workers are putting the finishing touches on three gates that are expected to open in February.
Two baggage claims, three ticket counters and a second security checkpoint also will be added in the eastern concourse, said Karen Carney, spokeswoman for Will Rogers World Airport.
Completing the airport project has been difficult as crews crack into the old part of the terminal built in 1967 and find lead-based paint and asbestos to remove. All this has to be done in a way that doesn’t disrupt travelers.
“I’ve been doing construction for 28 years, and I’ve never been involved in a more complex and complicated project as this one,” said Jerry Ennis, president of southern operations for Boldt Co., which is doing the construction work.
As workers do the last bit of work, Ennis is confident the project will be completed on time. “I can see the light at the end of the tunnel for the first time in four years,” Ennis said.
When the contract for the terminal renovations was awarded in November 2001, airport officials were grappling with security changes brought on by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The terrorist attacks meant every bag needed to be screened for explosives. Passengers had to be patted down and checked for dangerous items and access to the gates had to be limited.
“The security requirements changed, and we evolved as we were building,” said Tom Gunning, vice president of Benham Cos. and project manager during the design phase. “We needed to change the amount of queuing space, the space needed to screen passengers and we also saw increased security in the baggage space.”
In the first year of construction, airport officials also saw the numbers of travelers decrease. Then it became difficult to decide how the airport should be changed - would travelers come back and would the numbers return to pre-9/11 levels?
“We didn’t anticipate a slowdown in growth and passenger travel dropping off,” Gunning said. “Now it’s growing again and has been for several years. At the same time, many airlines have been restructured, and we’ve had to adapt how they would function at the airport.”
The renovated airport has boosted Oklahoma City’s image at a time when national media and sports figures are using the airport since the Hornets relocated here after Hurricane Katrina hit their home city of New Orleans.
“I’ve had first-hand accounts of that,” Cornett said. “At the press conference when we announced the Hornets were coming, head coach Byron Scott said he was very impressed with what he saw of the city. It’s the first impression people have with the city.”
Travelers are paying for the improvements. The renovations have been paid for by bonds, and passenger facilities charges are repaying the debt. The fees are tacked on to the price of an airline ticket. Passengers flying out of Oklahoma City pay $3 in charges. The money can only be used for airport improvement projects.
Timeline
• April 1998: Terminal planning study completed.
• March 2000: Phase 1 of construction begins. Includes widening approaches and departure roadways, adds escalator station in parking garage.
• February 2002: Construction on terminal begins.
• June 2003: New west concourse, ticket lobby and baggage claim open. Concourse includes 11 new gates, stores and eateries.
• April: Gates for Southwest Airlines opens. Food court opens.
• May: Plaza garden completed, bronze Will Rogers statute dedicated.
• June: Tunnel from parking garage opens, center escalators open, presecurity retail opens.
• September: Southwest and United Airlines move into new gates and baggage claim areas.
• Summer 2006: Airport to be completed.