Los Angeles’s 2024 Olympic bid leaders are applauding the Los Angeles City Council’s approval of an agreement that paves the way for a $5.5 billion modernization plan at the LA International Airport (LAX).
In addition to allowing LAX to add new gates and increase passenger traffic by several million people a year, the modernization plan includes a rail link that connects terminals with a consolidated rental car facility and the region’s growing mass transit system.
Los Angeles 2024 Chairman Casey Wasserman said: “On behalf of LA 2024, we would like to applaud Mayor Garcetti and the City Council for working to modernize LAX, so that it offers a better experience for travelers from all over the world. LAX is already the world’s leading origin and destination airport, and the nation’s second busiest, and we welcome these improvements that will offer the best first impression to all visitors. LAX’s modernization plan is another example of how LA 2024 offers a low-risk, sustainable and innovative vision for the Games that fits with the city’s ongoing transformation and investment in its future.”
The proposed $5.5 billion modernization plan, known as the Landside Access Modernization Program, includes five major program elements: a train, or Automated People Mover, that would connect three on-airport stations to Metro Rail and transit services – providing a seamless connection to public transportation; a new consolidated rental car facility; two Intermodal Transportation Facilities for additional parking; and roadway improvements to access the new facilities.
This story first appeared in the blog, The Sport Intern. The editor is Karl-Heinz Huba of Lorsch, Germany. He can be reached at ISMG@aol.com. The article is reprinted here with permission of Huba.