October 23, 2019
Concourse B at the Jacksonville International Airport is underway – but the project is still in the preliminary design phase. Jacobs Engineering Group is the lead architectural and engineering firm for the design. Another member of the design team is RS&H - who handled previous phases of the airports terminal expansion program.
The project should be completed within the next three years at end of 2022, it will bring six new gates to the airport – space that is sorely needed, according to Bob Molle director of planning and development. The design team is in the schematic design phase, which will define the overall program. Until this phase ends, we won't know what the price tag is.
The design phase should be complete by the end of 2020, for the concourse. The designs for the associated ramp and some taxiway work won't be complete until mid-2021.
The construction manager on the project is Balfour Beatty Construction. The project will be constructed on a construction management at risk project delivery method. Balfour Beatty will bid out the various construction packages required for the rest of the concourse construction.
The airport will not be adding additional ticket counter space, however, due to the the increasing amount of passengers checking in online and the curbside bag check-in -- bypassing the need to stop at the airline counter. Molle also says they have ample space as it is.
The new VIP Lounge, which opened in May, will be moved to the upper level when construction starts because it sits squarely on the spot where the third terminal will be built. The airport is negotiating with the company that runs the lounge, Texas-based Airport Lounge Development Inc., to find a temporary location for the lounge to continue operating.
The moving walk ways from the hourly parking garage to the airport are still under construction but they are expected to be finished this time next year. It will cost approximately $3 million to finish the construction.
Maintenance on elevators inside the airport is also ongoing.
JIA also recently added a third surface parking lot to offset the increase in demand for parking. Molle says they are also “seriously looking at the feasibility” of an additional garage. There is no timeframe attached to the project, as the airport is still considering the financial feasibility.
JIA announced plans for the third concourse in March. Concourse B has been long awaited, as Concourse A and C were finished in 2008, with 20 gates between them. Concourse B was demolished in 2009.
JAA ended its last fiscal year with a higher passenger count than ever before. JIA was also ranked second in customer satisfaction among medium-sized airports in J.D. Power’s 2019 North American Airport Satisfaction Study.
By Ellen Schneider
– Reporter, Jacksonville Business Journal
Source:
http://ow.ly/Gz1B50wS4Nr
