"San Jose, California airport to open runway, arrival center"

Thursday, October 3, 2002   
 
S.J. airport to open runway, arrival center
MAJOR PROJECTS DONE THIS MONTH SETTING THE STAGE FOR EXPANSION
By Rodney Foo
The San Jose (CA) Mercury News


A series of long-awaited major projects will be completed at Mineta San
Jose International Airport in coming weeks -- a prelude to a massive
expansion to meet Silicon Valley's growing needs.

The projects, said Frank Kirkbride, assistant director of aviation
services, ``are critical because any time you can enhance your customer
service, it's always a step in the right direction. And that's what this
is -- it's the next step toward improving customer service.''

This month, the airport will open a $45 million facility for arriving
international passengers and reopen one of its two runways, which had
been closed for a $40 million repaving job.

While the finishing touches are being put on those projects, road work
to ease traffic congestion -- a prerequisite for construction of the
proposed central terminal -- continues to grind on around the airport,
and will do so for several years.

Runway nearly ready

The first project slated for completion is the repaving of 8,900 feet of
Runway 30 Left. The runway is scheduled to open Monday, marking the end
of a six-month job in which aging asphalt was replaced with concrete.

In the spring, work will begin on lengthening 30 Left to 11,000 feet,
matching its parallel runway, 30 Right. Planes will still be able to use
the runway during the $26 million project.

Those upgrades, as well as the International Arrivals Facility, are
financed through fees exacted from the airlines, passengers, and other
airport users, combined with parking lot revenue.

For airport visitors, the most visible project has been the
international facility, a customer-friendly, three-floor, gleaming white
structure that opens Oct. 23 after two years of construction. The
77,000-square-foot building replaces a modest, single-story modular
building that has greeted passengers since 1990.

Two international flights now serve San Jose: a daily non-stop run to
Tokyo by American Airlines and a Mexicana flight to Guadalajara, Morelia
and Mexico City. There also is seasonal service to Mexico on Alaska
Airlines.

Currently, travelers leave planes down portable stairs onto the ramp,
then enter the facility a half-mile south of Terminal C, where they are
processed by U.S. Customs and Immigration and Naturalization Service
representatives. The passengers then board a shuttle to pick up their
baggage at one of the two terminals.

Now they will walk through a jet bridge connecting the Customs and INS
areas. To retrieve their luggage, they will go one floor down to a
baggage carousel.

While the current facility handles just one arriving aircraft at a time,
the new facility has three gates: one for international arrivals only, a
second for international and domestic passengers, and a third for
domestic arrivals and departures.

Master plan

But the new facility is considered a temporary measure. The airport's
master plan calls for the international arrival operations to be moved
to a section of a new central terminal, still on the drawing boards. The
new facility will be incorporated into the proposed terminal, which
would house 40 gates compared with the existing 31 at Terminals A and C.

Construction of that central terminal -- which will probably have to
accommodate 17 million passengers annually compared with the current 13
million -- is dependent on a multiphase, $750 million plan to ease
traffic around the airport.

The first phase -- changing Airport Boulevard into a one-way, northbound
road from south of Skyport Drive to Airport Parkway -- is expected to be
completed early next year.

Among the major projects that follow are the completion of the Highway
87-Skyport interchange, improving the Coleman Avenue-Interstate 880
interchange, and building a double-tiered road that would serve the
proposed central terminal.

But there is another plan to bring passengers to the airport that
doesn't involve cars: an automated people mover.

The $110 million elevated people mover would link the Metro/Airport
light-rail station on North First Street to a point within what is now
Terminal C's short-term parking lot. The system, about six-tenths of a
mile, would be able to transport 1,235 people an hour in each direction.


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