The Weitz Company Selected to Complete New Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport Project
Weitz teams up with JSM & Associates to upgrade and modernize Phoenix Sky Harbor’s Terminal 4 Baggage Handling System
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – January 5, 2023
PHOENIX, Ariz. – The Weitz Company has been selected by Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport to upgrade its Terminal 4 Baggage Handling System (BHS) for an estimated $50 million in construction costs. The project award encompasses preconstruction services and construction in partnership with JSM & Associates.
This project will primarily focus on the outbound BHS servicing the North concourses and inbound system. The complete modernization of Terminal 4 BHS includes T4 North (T4N), T4 International (T4I), T4 Recheck (T4R), T4 FIS (T4FIS), and T4 In-Bound 1 thru 7 (T4IB1-7).
“The baggage handling equipment likely isn’t on the average traveler’s mind, but its purpose, efficiency, and reliability directly connect to the traveler’s experiences, and it must be sound. What this project requires is an understanding and coordination of PHX needs, TSA needs, and the dynamic atmosphere in which the work will be performed,” says Ben Bunge, Weitz’s Director of Aviation. “The Weitz team provides the depth of readily available resources, specialized expertise, aviation experience, and aviation knowledge combined with over 44 years of local experience, including Phoenix Sky Train, to support the airport in successfully delivering this project.”
Weitz and JSM have successfully completed years of BHS projects together. The two companies plan to modernize the 32-year-old baggage handling system in part by using a phased design and implementation plan, including contingency planning, showing a smooth transition between new and existing systems while not impacting active airport operations and passenger experience. BIM Technology will also be used to show work in 3D, which increases cost certainty and project communication.
“One approach The Weitz Company takes is capitalizing first on local involvement,” says Mina Wassef, Weitz Southwest General Manager. “Weitz has extensive experience working with small businesses and we value those partnerships with vendors and trades which encapsulate the local market. We are excited to involve the community as we embark on this project.”
The Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport Terminal 4 BHS Upgrades CMAR procurement and design will occur in 2023 – 2024. Construction will begin in 2024 and is expected to be completed in 2027. Upon completion, the BHS will be more reliable, and operationally efficient, compliant with TSA Planning Guidelines & Design Standards Version 7.0, more energy efficient, and less costly to operate due to reduced maintenance trouble calls and system outages.
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About Phoenix Sky Harbor
Phoenix Sky Harbor, dubbed America’s Friendliest Airport, is the main airport for the Greater Phoenix area. It serves more than 40 million passengers each year to more than 120 domestic and international destinations. With 1,200 daily flights—about 500 of them nonstop—Sky Harbor is one of the most convenient airports in the United States. Sky Harbor is served by 18 competitively priced carriers, located in the middle of Greater Phoenix, less than 10 minutes from downtown, and within 30 minutes of most hotels and resorts. Convenient transportation to the airport comes by way of PHX Sky Train®. This driverless people mover transports Valley Metro Rail passengers between the airport and the 44th Street/Washington Street station.
About The Weitz Company
Founded in 1855, The Weitz Company is a full-service construction company, general contractor, design builder, and construction manager that serves all 50 U.S. states. Weitz is one of the oldest general contractors in the United States and an industry leader in industrial construction, senior living, student housing, mission critical construction, virtual design and more. Headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, The Weitz Company annually ranks in the top tier of Engineering News-Record (ENR) magazine’s Top 400 Contractors and Building Design+Construction’s Giants 300 Contractors lists. You can read more about The Weitz Company at https://www.weitz.com/.
About JSM & Associates
JSM & Associates (JSM), is a leading baggage handling system design and operations/maintenance firm for airports across the globe. JSM provides clients strategically executed BHS design, consulting, concepts and planning, as well as comprehensive BHS/Passenger Boarding Bridge (PBB) operations and maintenance. As one of the few owner-operated firms in the airport design, consultancy and operations marketplace, JSM has achieved a long and successful history in the aviation community.
