REA Final - 22 Dec 20 - eBook - 1682 pages

contractor for its $3.9-billion program, says Ryan Marzullo, Delta’s managing director of New York construction. “We take on the risks of cost and schedule. That also allows us to take control of the delivery process.” Subcontractors reach out directly to Marzullo, which “improves communication and allows us to get this built as efficiently as possible,” he says. Last November, Delta opened its first 105,000-sq-ft concourse. Construction of the 425,000-sq-ft headhouse started in 2018. “The headhouse is really taking shape. Roadways are running ahead of schedule,” says Marzullo, adding that reduced traffic due to the pandemic “opened up real estate we wouldn’t otherwise have had.” It also allowed crews to do more work during daytime. “When you’re able to access solid eight-hour shifts instead of three- to four-hour windows at night, that really helps,” he adds. Delta crews worked closely with the Skanska-Walsh team to negotiate use of limited workspace. “There were areas where we knew if we didn’t change the phasing and get in there early, we’d never get that patch of ground back again,” says Martin Durney, program manager with Burns & McDonnell, prime consultant for the program. Corgan is lead architect for the headhouse and first concourse, while Gensler serves as lead architect for the remaining three concourses. The port authority agreed to let Delta crews use a parking lot early on, and the Uber-Lyft effect that reduced numbers of personal vehicles going to the airport also proved advantageous for construction operations, says Durney. Another challenge early on was discovering that a new substation would be required for electricity capacity. “We constructed it on top of the first concourse,” says Durney. That building is designed to allow floodwater to flow underneath it.