Landside Access Modernization Program (LAMP), part of the first phase of the Capital Improvement Plan at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) begins in 2018. It promises to modernize one of the country’s busiest airports and make getting around much more efficient.
The many benefits LAMP will provide at LAX
This multi-billion dollar modernization program is scheduled to be complete by 2023 and includes five major congestion-relieving elements aimed at improving the traveler’s experience as they navigate LAX. These include:
Automated People Mover (APM): The cost to ride is free for all airport users and will arrive at stations every two minutes. Train capacity is 200 passengers (with luggage) and could serve 10,000 passengers per hour (that’s 87.7 million per year). Traveling 2.25 miles along an elevated guideway and powered by electricity and renewable energy, trains will stop at six stations and connect to Metro Rail (Crenshaw and Green Line) transit services, car rental and passenger pick-up/drop-off locations. The ride from end to end will only take 10 minutes.
Intermodal Transportation Facilities (ITF): A total of 3.1 million square miles will provide five or six stories of parking (4,300 stalls by 2020 and an additional 2,500 by 2025). Ground transportation (taxis, buses, ride-sharing services) and meet-and-greet activity access will be at this location off 96th Street.
Airport Metro Connector Station (AMC): Fully funded by Metro, it will the location where travelers can connect to rail lines that are scheduled to open in October 2019. When complete, it will be possible to travel via public transportation to/from LAX and destinations as far reaching as downtown Santa Monica, Long Beach, Pasadena or Azusa. Preparation for this construction began in March 2018 with the reconfiguration of employee parking and the closure of the Post Office on Westchester Parkway and Airport Boulevard.
Consolidated Rent-A-Car Center (ConRAC): Six million square feet will allow for 8,000 ready/return car rental spaces and an additional 10,000 overflow spaces. Space for 1,200 rental car employees and 2,200 airport employees will also be available. The center will have easy access to/from the 405 Freeway and is expected decrease traffic around LAX by 40 percent because car rental, hotel and other shuttles will use ConRAC and ITF hubs rather than clog roadways around the current the LAX loop. This will, in turn, help reduce emissions because an expected 117,000 fewer vehicle miles will be spent circling the terminals.
Roadway improvements: Several new roads will be built to provide access to ITF and ConRAC facilities and improve traffic conditions in the surrounding area. This includes improved freeway ramps, additional lanes for traffic, and new bicycle and pedestrian pathways.
LAX improvements impact the economy
These infrastructure projects not only help modernize LAX and provide a faster and more reliable way to get to and from flights, it will impact all of Southern California.
An economic study reported that LAX’s ongoing capital-improvement program creates an additional 121,640 annual jobs with labor income of $7.6 billion and economic output of $20.3 billion, $966 million in state and local taxes, and $1.6 billion in federal tax revenues.
LAX Integrated Express Solutions (LINXS) was selected by Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) to do the project. LAWA requires LINXS to meet the goals of a labor agreement and hire locally. No fewer than 30 percent of the workers on LAMP must be local residents who receive training specifically for these improvement projects and are ensured that prevailing wages are paid to them.
