"Atlanta airport upbeat on projects' progress"

Friday, May 26, 2006

Airport upbeat on projects' progress
City Council panel briefed on terminal redesign, rental cars
By DAVE HIRSCHMAN
The Atlanta (GA) Journal-Constitution

 
Airport officials gave the City Council's transportation committee an upbeat
assessment of expansion projects at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport
on Thursday, a week after an elaborate series of events marking completion
of the $1.28 billion fifth runway.

Airport officials said construction of a $451 million rental car complex
with an elevated "people mover" train over I-85 is well under way and on
target for completion in October 2008.

The old FAA control tower is scheduled to be demolished on Aug. 8 to make
way for an eventual international terminal on the eastern end of the
existing concourses.

Site preparation for the delayed international terminal is under way, and
airport officials said they planned to begin redesigning the facility in
June. But the opening date is now 2010 at the earliest, well behind the
original schedule, and litigation remains pending over an initial design.

Airport officials fired architectural firm Leo A Daly last year, saying work
was more than 20 percent over budget and behind schedule. The firm sued,
claiming $10 million in unpaid bills and $50 million in damages. Daly blames
airport officials for delays and cost overruns in a project budgeted at $983
million.

Airport General Manager Ben DeCosta said the terminal redesign will take
about 90 days, then a new firm will be hired. He declined to say how much
the airport has spent on litigation.

Transportation committee member Clair Muller called the fifth runway outdoor
parties and behind-the-scenes airport tours "delightful," and she
congratulated DeCosta on a "good splashy event. Nicely done."

DeCosta said airport officials were "glad to have the opportunity to maybe
brag a little bit" about the runway and its bridge over I-285 that he called
"unique in the world."

The runway opens for good-weather operations on Saturday, and planes can
begin using it in bad weather on June 8. The fifth runway will allow the
airport to take one of its existing runways out of service for
reconstruction late this year. The airport will be able to begin operating
in its most efficient configuration next spring after a new radar is
installed to monitor planes using the fifth runway.

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