LOS ANGELES _ Travelers leaving Los Angeles International Airport by car, van, bus, shuttle or taxi have no choice but to wait at the chaotic curbside, often for more than half an hour, as drivers fight through bumper-to-bumper traffic.
Within five years, the defining experience of traveling in and out of LAX could change, as the city moves forward on an ambitious and long-awaited transit project that will connect the airport to Los Angeles County's growing mass transit system.
As the audience at City Hall applauded, the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday unanimously awarded a nearly $4.9 billion, 30-year contract to design, build, operate and maintain an elevated train system that will whisk passengers in and out of LAX's terminal areas, avoiding the congestion below.
The train is expected to begin service in March 2023, with construction slated to begin later this year. While highly anticipated, the sleek rail loop comes years _ and in some cases, decades _ after other major airports across the world funded similar improvements.
The train, which airport officials call a "people mover," will run every two minutes along a 2.25-mile route.
The people mover will stop three times in the center of LAX's arrivals and departures area, with moving walkways to connect travelers and employees to each terminal.
East of the airport, the trains will connect to a ground transportation hub for shuttles and taxis and a Metro rail station at 96th Street and Aviation Boulevard. Reaching a terminal from the Metro station should take less than 10 minutes on the train, airport officials said.
At the end of the line, near the 405 Freeway, the people mover will stop at a consolidated car rental facility, eliminating the need for the lumbering rental car shuttles that account for 1 in 5 curbside boardings at the airport.
The contract is one of the largest in city history.
The airport will make five payments between 2019 and 2022 as construction progresses, officials said, and stiff penalties are built into the contract to discourage cost overruns and schedule delays, some of the most frequent issues with Southern California construction projects.
The group of companies, known as LAX Integrated Express Solutions, includes rail car manufacturer Bombardier Transportation. Their bid of $4.895 billion was 4 percent lower than airport officials' estimates and $700 million lower than other bidders, officials said.
