The Denver Metropolis Council accepted greater than $300 million in airport contract additions Monday evening, clearing the way in which for extra concourse initiatives — together with an enormous change to how passengers will board all Frontier Airways flights.
Denver Worldwide Airport’s third-largest provider principally makes use of 9 conventional gates with jetways on Concourse A. By early 2024, it plans to maneuver all operations to 14 gates in an expanded ground-loading facility on the jap finish of the identical concourse.
Passengers will board and exit planes from the tarmac, utilizing ramps and stairs related to every airplane’s entrance and rear doorways. Frontier executives signed a brand new lease that’s anticipated to final till 2034 and stated the brand new setup, which has been extra frequent at DIA for smaller regional jets, will pace loading and unloading. But it surely additionally will expose passengers extra on to the weather throughout excessive climate.
The approvals for DIA’s newest initiatives acquired simply two dissenting votes, however some council members expressed frustration with the airport’s contracting strategy.
The airport awarded $1.5 billion in contracts for the Concourse Enlargement Program to a number of development, design and administration corporations in late 2017 for expansions that by this yr are including 39 new gates, all claimed by United and Southwest airways. Since then, DIA twice has requested the council to amend these offers to broaden their scope and add new improve initiatives, with out looking for contemporary bids.
With Monday’s approvals, these contracts at the moment are price a mixed $2.4 billion.
“I actually perceive the time crunch … however I additionally don’t assume it’s acceptable that once we’re contracts, two of those 5 (offers) are over $1 billion {dollars} at this level,” Councilwoman Amanda Sawyer stated, referring to 2 joint development ventures, Holder-FCI and Turner-Flatiron, which have marshaled completely different parts. “For us to not ship these again out to bid is simply not acceptable.”
She voted no, together with Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca. Councilwoman Robin Kniech voted sure however stated her persistence was sporting skinny on the airport repeatedly looking for exceptions on large contract amendments to a city executive order that in any other case would possibly require new aggressive bids.
A DIA official defended the observe earlier this month by saying the massive development corporations “act as normal contractors,” with a lot of the brand new work to be subcontracted out to smaller firms.
The growth work on the ground-load facility for Frontier will value an estimated $183 million, together with some prices borne straight by DIA. It should recoup among the expense by the airline’s gate rents.
The contract additions additionally embody repaving of apron areas at some older gates, new de-icing pads and roughly $50 million in insurance-covered repairs on the east finish of Concourse B. That’s the place a hot-water line break prompted intensive harm to an almost full gate growth in December.
The council on Monday additionally accepted Frontier’s new long-term lease as a part of a block vote.
