A US$5-billion Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) modernization is scheduled to reduce congestion, redistribute traffic and improve access to what The Daily Breeze calls “the world’s seventh-busiest airport” and “the largest civic project in the history of Los Angeles.” The program includes two offsite intermodal transfer facilities to the east and west of the airport for trains, buses and vehicles; a consolidated rental car facility; and a 2.25-mi.-long elevated automated people mover (APM).
The APM will connect the three facilities with another three stations at the airport, in efforts to dramatically reduce LAX’s traffic jams. Capable of moving as many as 5,800 airline passengers per hour, nine free automated trains up to 185 ft. long will run every 2-3 min. 24/7 in efforts to also diminish the airport’s 1.1 million annual rental-car shuttle trips and 6,000 vehicles entering it at peak times. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is also planning a separate transit station immediately to the west of the Intermodal Transfer Facility East to connect the APM with the regional light-rail trains and bus system. It is estimated that construction could begin as soon as next year. When completed in 2024, the work is to change the face of LAX and how most of the 80 million passengers a year get in and out of the airport.
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