Innovative Skylink Engineering Assists
Travelers in Making Connections
To maintain its leadership in the aviation industry, DFW Airport (DFW) was compelled to find more efficient ways to move large numbers of passengers from gate to gate in the quickest time possible. Some 37 million passengers annually — an average of more than 100,000 every day — need to make connections between gates, so the speed of inter-terminal connection had become a critical issue for facility operations. In response, DFW decided to build the Skylink Automated People Mover, a 4.81-mile elevated airport train to carry 8,500 passengers gate-to-gate and terminal-to-terminal with a wait of less than two minutes.
The airport enlisted the expertise of a Texas CEC engineering firm to ensure that passenger traffic to aircraft departures continued without interruption, day and night throughout construction of Skylink. DFW required that no more than three gates be closed at any one time. To comply, the construction crews had just six hours, from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., to mobilize, complete the work, clean up and clear the area each morning for the next day’s travel. Also, the train had to be built on a fast-track schedule, requiring 24 months of design with an overlapping 38-month construction schedule. To manage extreme growth while building cohesion among the teams, the engineers worked on site at the DFW campus.
The engineers developed several innovative engineering solutions to meet requirements. Due to time constraints, a unique combination of precast, post-tensioned concrete segments were designed that enabled tram columns to be built within two 6-hour night shifts without closing any gates.
To keep passengers moving between gates, the engineers created a series of elevated passenger walkways that wrapped around the construction area. This allowed the contractor to erect Skylink boarding stations with a minimum amount of phasing. Passenger boarding bridges were relocated and connected to these walkways, allowing the gates to be fully utilized during the construction period, effectively saving time and money.
This is another case study of a Texas CEC member applying its expertise and judgment to the specialized need of an individual client to assure a finished project reflecting quality and value.
*The engineering services expense of a construction project typically is one of its
least costly components. Yet that independent disciple is critical in controlling
overall cost and quality. Trust (Look to) the engineering company professionals
to assure quality and true bottom line value in construction.