b'44 ATL TERMINALSDesigners expanded the overall concourse width from 60 to 99 feet.The main corridor is now 29 feet wide. officials knew would be needed is coming into play regarding theThe initial volley was ATL requesting half of the concourse, construction method. The project team is combining modularwhich would have meant demolishing and rebuilding 20 gates at and traditional strategies, including the use of 19 prefabricatedone time. But that was met with a resounding no. The airlines modules built on a six-acre lot adjacent to the airport. One bylobbed back with a counter proposal involving just four gates at one, the completed modules are being transported across thea time. That would have pushed the project completion date to airfield overnight to Concourse D for installation. 2031, which the airport felt was too long to wait for relief. In addition to considering how many gates the concourse Preliminary Negotiationscould have out of commission at any given time, the project The need to renovate or reconstruct Concourse D was identifiedteam had to factor in other facilities, such as in 2015 when ATL was in the process of negotiating airline leases.restrooms and concessions. You cant run Leadership evaluated several expansion and/or redesign alternatives,an airport without those things, says Pete and in 2016 narrowed the field to two options for further explorationPemantell, vice president of Operations for and refining. In 2021, airport leaders chose a strategy that would usejoint venture member Holder Construction. the existing structure, but refurbish and widen it.Its not just about holdrooms and passenger In March 2022, project validation was completed and thethroughput; its passenger experienceconstruction manager at risk (Holder-Moody-Bryson-Sovereignas well.PETE PEMANTELLjoint venture) was brought on board to start preconstruction tasks,Working collaboratively with stakeholders, constructability reviews, phasing schedules and gate impactthe project team analyzed countless options to determine how analysis. Because the original structure was built in the 1970s, themany gates the airport could afford to lose without negatively team knew a lot of work would be needed to meet current buildingimpacting airline operations or the passenger experience. When codes, including updated seismic code requirements.we were brought on board, not only were we studying which The operational impact of using a modular/traditional hybriddesign to go with, we were also looking at different scenarios method was key to discussions about construction. Airportto find that sweet spot, Pemantell explains. The goal was to leaders had detailed conversations with tenants, particularlyfacilitate efficient construction without financially impacting the Delta Air Lines, regarding how many gates could be taken out ofairlines or compromising the passenger experience. service at one time without causing extreme disruption. It was a lot of volleying back and forth, Rucker recalls. July | August 2024AirportImprovement.com'