Building a Reliable Concrete Structure to Handle the Traffic of One of the US’ Busiest Airports

Context

Rows of palm trees, beautiful beaches, and bright, sunny days are a few things travellers can expect when visiting Los Angeles, California. However, heavy traffic, congested parking, and a difficult experience getting in and out of the airport are just as ubiquitous. Because LAX is one of the busiest airports in the United States, it was determined new infrastructure was needed to alleviate congestion.

Serving around 84.5 million passengers per year, the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is the second busiest in the United States. The city of Los Angeles and Los Angeles World Airports are working with partners, including DYWIDAG, to create new infrastructure to alleviate traffic and parking congestion caused by outmoded facilities.

Scope

• Reinforce concrete parking structure with unbonded monostrand post-tensioning

• Provide technical support and supply stressing equipment

Solution

A key piece of the infrastructure solution is the Intermodal Transportation Facility – West (ITF-West), a 4,300+ stall parking structure. The facility will provide quick and easy drop-off/pick-up locations and both short/long-term parking options for its users.

Reliability and longevity are vital to the parking structure, and with such heavy passenger traffic expected, it required significant reinforcing. DYWIDAG provided about 1.2M lbs. of 0.5 inch unbonded monostrand post-tensioning. In addition, DYWIDAG provided technical support and supply of stressing equipment.

This project moved quickly with a tight schedule, an area in which DYWIDAG thrives, ensuring we can deliver all our customer’s needs. Although the project was very large and complex, the construction schedule was met while mitigating any issues that arose. 

All infrastructure improvements at LAX are expected to be complete in 2023.

Going Further

In addition to the ITF – West parking structure, other infrastructure was developed to improve the airport, such as the LAX Automated People Mover (APM) train system. This state-of-the-art system was designed to create a world-class user experience for LAX visitors, and, in the process, help reduce the constraints visitors faced before. LAX Integrated Express Solutions was selected by Los Angeles World Airports to create and maintain the APM.