NEWS |
22-97: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE , March 12, 1997
Five development teams will compete to design, build, operate and maintain the John F. Kennedy International Airport Light Rail System (LRS), which is expected to begin serving passengers in four years.
The 8.4-mile automated system will link the nine airline passenger terminals within the airport's Central Terminal Area and connect them with two nearby transit hubs at Jamaica and Howard Beach.
"All five teams that were pre-qualified last September to bid on this project have now submitted proposals to the Port Authority," said Robert E. Boyle, the bistate agency's Executive Director. "This level of response certainly underscores the enthusiasm the construction industry has for this project, and the industry's belief that the project can be accomplished within the time frame and design guidelines we've set." The five joint venture teams that submitted proposals are: Air-Rail Transit Consortium -- A Consortium of Bombardier Transit Corporation and a Construction Joint Venture of Slattery Associates, Inc., Perini Corporation, Karl Koch Erecting Company, Inc., and Skanska (USA), Inc. JFK Link -- A Joint Venture of Fluor Daniel, Inc., GEC Alsthom Transportation, Inc., and Morse Diesel International, Inc.
JFK Express Transit (JET) -- A Consortium of Parsons Corporation, Siemens Transportation Systems Corporation, Matra Transport International Corporation, Schiavone Construction Company, DeFoe Corporation, and Halmar Builders of New York, Inc.
Raytheon-Ansaldo -- A Consortium of Raytheon Infrastructure Inc. and Ansaldo Transporti s.p.a. Sky Rail Systems -- A Joint Venture of Yonkers Contracting Company, Granite Construction Company, Turner Construction Company, ICF Kaiser Engineers Corporation, and ABB Diamler-Benz Transportation (North America) Inc.
The Port Authority expects to complete its evaluation of the proposals sometime this summer. Service is anticipated to begin on the on-airport and Howard Beach components by summer 2001. The Jamaica service is expected to begin less than 12 months later.
The rail link is expected to create more than 4,000 construction jobs during the five years of construction, and serve 34,000 air passengers and airport employees a day when completed. More than 12 million riders are projected to use it in its first full year of operation.
"Even with this conservative projection of ridership, the system is poised to open as the second most traveled airport-rail connection in the United States," Mr. Boyle noted.
The three-mile northern extension to the Jamaica transportation center will put travelers within easy reach of the east and west sides of Manhattan, as well as Queens, Brooklyn and Long Island. Travelers will have easy access to almost 1,000 trains a day on the Long Island Rail Road and the E, J, and Z subway lines, as well as 40 bus lines. Total travel time from JFK to Manhattan via Jamaica could be as little as 34 minutes.
The second link will connect the terminals to long-term and employee parking lots, car rental facilities and the A train at the Howard Beach subway station via a 3.4-mile extension. The A train serves Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. Travel time from JFK to Manhattan via Howard Beach will be under an hour.
A two-mile loop will connect the nine terminals in the Central Terminal Area, with a total circuit travel time of about eight minutes. Getting from one terminal to another at JFK has been a frequent source of passenger complaints. The Port Authority's airport access program has been endorsed by Governor George E. Pataki and is the cornerstone of his "Master Links" initiative. It has also been endorsed by Congressman Floyd H. Flake, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the Regional Plan Association, the New York Building Congress, the Straphangers Campaign and a number of other elected officials, transportation advocates, community groups and building industry and union groups.
The light rail system is part of a JFK redevelopment program in which more than $3 billion in Port Authority and airline funds will be invested over the next five years. Projects include a new, $1.1-billion International Arrivals Building to be built by private developers; Terminal One, the first new terminal at JFK in 25 years; and major improvements at terminals operated by Delta and American.
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