Airports

The Way to San Jose Just Got Better

Roadway Completed; New Concourse Well Underway

Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport is undergoing a major expansion, including the construction of the $355-million North Concourse and the recent completion of roadway work on Route 87/Skyport Drive. The building of the South Concourse--expected to start in early 2008-- will be the second phase of San Jose's improvement plan.

RENDERING OF NORTH CONCOURSE COURTESY OF GENSLER.

Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport, which served 11.1 million passengers in 2004, has embarked on a massive expansion that includes terminal, roadway, airfield and parking lot improvements.

San Jose is preparing for growth as passenger traffic picks up due in part to low-cost carriers that are serving the airport.

"Before Sept. 11, 2001, we were at a record 13 million passengers, and, in 2001, we were set to break the record, but we dropped below the year before," said Marina Renneke, airport spokeswoman. "Since then, passengers have been steadily coming back. We've been regaining a lot of flights, and low-cost carriers now make up 49 percent of our traffic."

The expansion project got a big push in 2003 when San Jose voters passed a measure allowing terminal construction to start once several transportation projects were within two years of completion. These projects included Route 87, improvements to Coleman Avenue and Highway 880 interchange, and roadway improvements on the airport property.

Gilbane Building Co. is currently completing the excavation work on the North Concourse project

In February, Caltrans and the city of San Jose opened the Route 87 (Guadalupe Parkway) northbound onramp at the Route 87/Skyport Drive Interchange, a 3.1-mi. section of freeway serving downtown San Jose and the airport, which has a new gateway at Skyport Drive.

The new on-ramp gives airport passengers direct access to northbound Route 87 and northbound Highway 101.

Phase one of the airport expansion project is underway with the construction of the North Concourse, being built between Terminal C and the International Arrivals Facility.

Construction of $355-million North Concourse started last fall and a completion date is scheduled for late 2007. The architect is Gensler's San Francisco office, and the construction manager is the San Jose office of Gilbane Building Co. of Providence, R.I. The Steinberg Group of San Jose is working with Gensler on the interior design.

The North Concourse will house nine gates, which will expand San Jose's total gates from 31 to 40. There will also be meet/greet areas, retail and food concessions. New federal security requirements have been incorporated into the design, including an automated explosive detection system for baggage screening.

advertisement

North Concourse will also have a baggage-claim area and preboarding passenger screening checkpoints to alleviate congestion and lines at existing Terminal A, which serves the airport's two largest carriers, American and Southwest. Terminal A will be connected to the North Concourse.

Bob Crowder, Gilbane project executive, said the North Concourse work has been split into several stages.

"We were required to relocate existing structures that were on the site and had to relocate existing utilities," he added. "The first major bid package was to do the excavation work. We anticipate completing piles in the first quarter 2006 and we'll go straight in to the building of the North Concourse."

Gilbane has handled construction of similar airport projects around the country. "We've probably completed 10 projects similar to this in the last five or six years," Crowder said.

The airport's plans call for the International Arrivals Facility to be integrated into the North Concourse, although Renneke said that "in the future, there is hope there for a new international terminal."

The building of the South Concourse --expected to start in early 2008--would be the second phase of San Jose's improvement plan. However, the project is subject to change, particularly if passenger numbers do not grow, Renneke said.

Also designed by Gensler with the same architecture as the North Concourse, the South Concourse is intended to become part of one large airport building. "The goal is to have Gensler design the whole project so the concourses look uniform," Renneke added.

Gensler's San Francisco office designed the $355-million North Concourse, which will house nine gates, expanding the airport's total gates from 31 to 40

Plans also call for Terminal C, the oldest terminal building at the airport, to be demolished prior to the building of a Central Terminal, which would be the third and final phase, with an estimated completion in 2012.

Central Terminal would become the airport's arrival and departure point, with a new two-level roadway. At that point, Terminal A would cease to be a terminal and North Concourse would function simply as a concourse, part of the Central Terminal.

"Terminal C has higher operating costs so we may be looking at tearing it down sooner rather than later," Renneke said. "But there are many discussions that will have to take place. We have a new aviation director and we are looking at the master plan and how we can build for the future."

Meanwhile, work is proceeding on a new private hangar and office complex on the west side of the airport for AvBase, a Seattle-based corporate operator. The $12-million project, designed by RBF Architecture of Seattle and being built by Milpitas-based Devcon Construction, is expected to be completed this fall.

The hangar will house 10 to 14 corporate aircraft. A 16,000-sq.-ft. building will include office space, conference rooms, a concierge service and kitchen for catering.