�Phase one will create 5,900 total jobs, employing 2,000 construction craftspeople,� says Hensel Phelps operations manager Allan Bliesmer. �Roughly 350 contractors will be working on 28 different design packages. It was the airport�s objective to generate as much economic activity as possible by breaking the project into several bid packages.�

Montreal-based Bombardier Inc. is providing Sky Train�s 18 Innovia automated rubber-tired electric trains under a $186-million design-build contract. The company also has a separate $69-million, 10-year operate-maintain contract.

The Weitz Co., Des Moines, Iowa, is Bombardier�s prime contractor, overseeing electrical and mechanical work as well as construction of a 30-ft-tall, 50,000-sq-ft concrete-tilt-wall operations, maintenance and storage building on 20 acres east of the airport.

�We are confident this people mover project will serve as a role model for other cities and airports seeking modern transit solutions,� says Michael Fetsko, Bombardier transportation vice president.

Each 54-person capacity, 31,747-lb driverless car travels up to 37 mph for a 12-minute round-trip. Cars are powered by a direct-current electrified third guideway rail and can be linked into four-car trains. Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport�s SkyLink and London Heathrow Airport�s Terminal 5 also use Innovia train technology.

Key Players

Owner: City of Phoenix Aviation Dept.

Program Manager: URS Corp.

Facilities Design Engineer: Gannett Fleming Inc.

Architect: HOK Inc.

Civil Engineer: Kimley-Horn and Associates

MEP Engineer: Dinter Engineering Co.

Construction Manager: Hensel Phelps Construction Co.

Train Contractor: Bombardier Inc.

Subcontractors: Schuff Steel; Beck Steel; HACI Mechanical; US Concrete, Precast Group; FNF; SECON; JFK Electrical Contracting; Gaylor Inc.; DP Electric; Austin Bridge & Road; Suntec Concrete