Atkins awarded civil engineering contract for automated people mover and parking complex at Orlando International Airport

ORLANDO, FLA. — As Orlando International Airport prepares to move forward with its $1.1 billion expansion program, Atkins has been selected to provide civil engineering design services for the Automated People Mover (APM) complex that will be developed to the south of the main airport terminal. Orlando International Airport is the 13th busiest airport in the nation, originally designed to accommodate 24 million passengers annually, but currently handling more than 35 million annually — including 1.8 million international arrivals. The work on the south airport APM complex is one of the first steps in upgrading the airport’s capacity to handle an expected 40 million passengers by 2016.

Joe Boyer, Atkins’ CEO, North America, said: “This is a project of great magnitude for one of the largest and busiest airports in Florida. Our aviation business has a qualified team of professionals with the knowledge and expertise needed to successfully handle the demands of this project.”

“This contract presents many demanding opportunities,” noted Atkins group manager Craig Sucich, “including a construction-management-at-risk delivery method, fast-track construction, sustainable design, construction safety, and phased planning. Our team is up to the challenge, as we have successfully completed similar projects at major airports nationwide.”

Atkins is the primary provider of all civil engineering work on the APM project and will support the primary architecture design team in designing all elements of the APM complex. Site elements will be designed to be incorporated into a proposed new south terminal, the development of which has not yet been determined. The current plan is to design the APM in such a way as to eliminate or minimize potential future integration or upgrade-related costs and impacts to airport operations.

The new APM complex will relieve passenger capacity constraints in the airport’s main terminal, and will also connect the main terminal to a 2,400 space parking garage being built as part of the APM complex. Atkins will provide design services for the new roadways, bridges, utilities, grading, and drainage required for the parking garage. Construction is expected to begin during 2014. The project is currently slated for completion in 2017.

For more than 50 years, Atkins has worked with the nation’s leading airports, including 36 of the top 50 airports. In just the last 5 years, Atkins has managed more than $1 billion worth of runway-related construction projects.