With the first phase of PHX Sky Train from the 44th Street Metro Light Rail in Phoenix to Sky Harbor Airport’s Terminal 4 on track for a 2013 opening, many wondered why the second stage to connect the airport’s other terminals to the system wasn't set to open until 2020. That changed earlier this month after the Phoenix City Council voted to move up completion of a .6-mile section to connect Terminal 4 with Terminal 3, along with a walkway for passengers to access Terminal 2, to early 2015. This portion was originally part of a second phase that would also add a 3.2-mile stretch of track to the Rental Car Center west of the airport.
Re-dubbed Stage 1a, the portion that was advanced by nearly six years carries a $240-million project cost, with funding provided by passenger facility charges and airport revenues. McCarthy-Kiewit, a joint venture between Tempe, Ariz.-based McCarthy Building Cos. and the Phoenix office of Kiewit Corp., was awarded a construction manager-at-risk contract for a portion of Stage 1a.