And There's More At Oakland International Airport...

A brand new terminal isn't all Oakland International Airport and Turner Construction Company have been working on.

Accompanying the green concourse expansion and renovation was a massive roadway, parking and curbside improvement project outside - at the cost of $190 million. Original plans called for a new parking garage, but escalating construction costs caused those plans to be shelved, says airport spokeswoman Rosemary Barnes.

"OAK has ample surface parking, so we knew we were in good shape for a number of years for customer and employee parking," she said.

Some 1,100 new surface parking spaces were added, according to Jayne O'Donnell, vice president and general manager of Turner's Aviation Division.

The parking and roadway project also included new frontage roads so employees and cargo operators could access parking lots and airport facilities without having to mix with terminal traffic.

Roads in front of the terminals were widened and a fourth curbside lane was added to separate personal and ground transportation vehicles more efficiently, Barnes says. In all, about 90,000 tons of new asphalt was put in for the new parking spaces and 3.3 miles of new road, according to Turner. Construction was complete in early 2008.

Although the road and parking improvement projects are not up for LEED certification, environmental care was still taken.

Materials removed were recycled on site, saving 52 daily truck trips to off-site landfills and keeping millions of pounds of waste out of the ground, says O'Donnell.

The project also made life easier for travelers by increasing the size and number of drop-off curbs, improving traveler safety and offering canopies and benches for shade and comfort, says Steve Rule, a senior project manager for Turner.

Other improvements in the project included two pedestrian crossings with signals, nine new overhead signs and new parking revenue equipment.

The overall goal of the massive construction project was "to improve access and ease traffic congestion in front of both terminals," Barnes says.