Burns & McDonnell Designing Major Baggage Screening Project at Miami Airport

July 8, 2015
Burns & McDonnell has been named as prime consultant for a $160 million upgrade to baggage security facilities at the Central and South Terminals at Miami International Airport, one of the busiest airports in the United States and the world.

KANSAS CITY, MO., July 7, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Burns & McDonnell has been named as prime consultant for a $160 million upgrade to baggage security facilities at the Central and South Terminals at Miami International Airport, one of the busiest airports in the United States and the world.

The firm is leading a team that will design a 70,000 square-foot baggage security screening facility at the Miami airport as well as upgrading and replacing baggage handling equipment in the existing terminals to more efficiently feed the new screening facility. The project is expected to achieve LEED Silver designation from the U.S. Green Building Council. It will replace security equipment installed after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack.

Bret Pilney, vice president of Aviation at Burns & McDonnell, said the contract is the latest chapter in a close relationship with the Miami airport that includes projects going back 50 years.

"This is the result of our overall aviation knowledge and relationships with our partners, we've worked at Miami International since the mid-1960s," Pilney said.

"While we're working with other firms, Burns & McDonnell is responsible for the whole thing including integration of the equipment with minimum impact to the current operation."

Other firms on the team include BNP Associates, JSM & Associates, Gurri Matute, MOBIO Architecture, Gartek Engineering, Louis J. Aguirre & Associates, DDA Engineers and Premiere Design Solutions. Design work is currently underway on the baggage-handling project and construction is expected to begin within 12 months. The facility is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2018.

The Miami airport is considered a significant achievement for Burns & McDonnell in terms of designing baggage facilities at larger airports. Miami International is the 10th busiest airport in the United States serving 40.9 million passengers, according to its website. It ranked second in terms of international passengers. About 500 employee-owners at Burns & McDonnell perform aviation-related work.

"This Miami opportunity continues our growth on the technology side of the aviation industry including special systems and security," Pilney said.

About Burns & McDonnell

Burns & McDonnell is a company made up of more than 5,200 engineers, architects, construction professionals, scientists, consultants and entrepreneurs with offices across the country and throughout the world. We strive to create amazing success for our clients and amazing careers for our employee owners. Burns & McDonnell is 100% employee-owned and is proud to be No. 15 on FORTUNE's 2015 List of 100 Best Companies to Work For. For more information visit http://burnsmcd.com

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