Los Angeles World Airports, owner of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), planned upgrades to better connect passengers to services and the Automated People Mover system through new terminal vertical cores, using elevators and escalators, as well as pedestrian walkways and new front entrances for the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT), Terminals 5 and 6 (T5.5), and Terminal 7.

Geotechnical and Environmental Services

Kleinfelder provided design recommendations for foundations, retaining structures, utilities, and other subsurface structures, and developed general earthwork requirements.

Kleinfelder performed exploratory drilling of the subsurface conditions at the terminal core structure locations. To meet project requirements and limit mobilization costs, Kleinfelder used EPA Tier 4 compliant, limited-access drilling equipment at both sites. This provided improved air quality compliance. To minimize impacts to airport operations, Kleinfelder performed subsurface environmental sampling at the TBIT and Terminal 5.5 core locations in conjunction with the geotechnical exploration work. The environmental exploration included installing nested methane probes at various depths within the geotechnical borings.

Construction Support

During construction, Kleinfelder developed load testing recommendations for alternative pile foundation types to be used at TBIT, provided observation and documentation of the testing, and submitted the results with final pile design recommendations to the City of Los Angeles for approval. At T5.5, crane mat recommendations were developed for protection of an existing sewer line under the crane and other heavy equipment loading during construction. In addition, Kleinfelder provided observation and testing during pile installation and excavation and grading.

At TBIT, it was discovered that some underground utilities could not be moved, and existing fill materials could not be addressed by removal and replacement. To mitigate these issues, Kleinfelder worked with the project team to update the design specifications, and gained approval from the City of Los Angeles for partial fill removals using geosynthetics to provide soil separation and support of ground-level floor slabs over the remaining fill and existing utilities, combined with additional pile support of the structures.

Project Results

The terminal cores project provides enhanced passenger access, and connects to the Automated People Mover train system, providing a vital link to LA Metro and other transportation. This project was honored with awards from Engineering News-Record (Award of Merit, 2024) and the American Society of Civil Engineers, Metropolitan Los Angeles Branch (Outstanding Airport Project, 2023).

Project Details

Location:
Los Angeles, CA
Owner:
Los Angeles World Airports