Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa unveils modernization plan for LAX

City officials say the projects, which include a major face-lift for the Tom Bradley International Terminal, are needed to enhance the travel experience for passengers and preserve one of the region's main economic engines.

"Today marks a milestone in our effort to modernize the hub of the region's air transportation system and restore it to the premier international gateway the airlines need and the City of Angels deserves," Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said.

The plan's architectural models and renderings were unveiled during a ceremony at the airport's Flight Path Learning Center attended by airline executives, elected officials and business leaders.

The conceptual plans were designed by Fentress Associates, a Denver-based architectural firm perhaps best known in this country for its work on the national museum of the U.S. Marine Corps in Quantico, Va., and Denver International Airport, which has a peaked roof that evokes the image of the Rocky Mountains.

Using the region's natural landscape as inspiration, Curt Fentress said, the concepts for LAX capture the city's sense of place. The sloping roof lines of the glass-and-steel terminals, for example, are evocative of breaking waves at the beach.

"We want to change LAX into L.A. wow," Fentress said.

Highlighted on Monday were conceptual plans for the Bradley terminal, a cross-field taxiway, a midfield concourse for domestic and international flights and a passenger processing facility immediately across from the Bradley.

According to the dramatic renderings, the Bradley and midfield concourse will be linked by a soaring sky bridge over the cross-field taxiway, giving passengers panoramic views of the ocean, mountains and city skyline.

Airport officials say they expect to finish the projects by 2013 at a cost of $5 billion to $6 billion, though that could go substantially higher.

The centerpiece of the modernization and its priority is the overhaul of the Bradley, including the reconstruction of two concourses, new gates on the west to accommodate large commercial aircraft (such as the Airbus A-380) and a central hall offering shopping, restaurants and lounges.