Denver Airport Terminal Construction Expected to Restart Next Month

Feb. 5--The construction company picking up the ball from the fired contractors on Denver International Airport's terminal renovation project is set to be paid up to $195 million to reboot the project.

A Denver City Council committee is considering the deal with Hensel Phelps, the new lead construction contractor, at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. If approved by the full council later this month, Hensel Phelps would restart construction in March within the walled-off sections of the terminal's midsection, tackling the unfinished portions of the project's first phase.

That phase includes finishing an expansion of the upper-level balconies over the atrium and construction of new airline check-in pods, bathrooms and escalators. Later phases, still being retooled, will include construction of new security check-in areas on the north ends of DIA's upper level to replace the current main-floor checkpoints.

The upshot for travelers is that the construction walls and detours that have made navigating the airport so difficult since 2018 will stick around much longer. The end of the first phase, which is expected to affect travelers the most, at least has an end date, though: Hensel Phelps' contract gives it until the end of 2021 to substantially finish the work.

That first phase had been targeted for completion by last summer, with the entire project done by late 2021.

But in August, after tangling over huge cost overruns and delay projections with Great Hall Partners, DIA and city officials terminated its $1.8 billion, 34-year public-private partnership that included the terminal renovation. Great Hall was a consortium of firms led by Madrid-based Ferrovial Airports.

The project's full completion now looks more likely in 2024, airport officials have said. A DIA presentation prepared for Wednesday's meeting says it expects to release a new project schedule and a refined scope -- with potential cost-saving reductions -- this summer.

The terminal renovation's budget was $650 million. DIA CEO Kim Day has since said she aims to keep the project's total cost to $770 million, including the original budget and a $120 million contingency fund. The airport took more control over the project and will bid out the remaining phases later, while Hensel Phelps is at work.

Its contract is the largest inked in recent months. In November, the council approved $136 million in contracts with other companies, including new project managers, led by Jacobs, and a lead designer, Stantec. Those contractors have been at work in recent months.

Company is large city contractor

Hensel Phelps, which DIA selected from among three contractors experienced at the airport, has been active on city projects. It has a $275 million contract for site-preparation and other activity on the under-development National Western Center campus, and it's part of a team that has signaled an intention to bid on an upcoming public-private partnership that includes more than $500 million in public facilities on a portion of the site.

The company also is an active bidder in contention for the city's $233 million Colorado Convention Center expansion, a project that's recovering from a bidding scandal.

As for Great Hall Partners, breakup negotiations with DIA have dragged on and now are expected to wrap up in March, the airport says. So far, DIA has made $128 million in payments to Great Hall. Outstanding components likely will add tens of millions more dollars. The two sides also are still in talks to settle Great Hall's claims last year that stemmed from recurring airport change orders.

The terminal renovation is one of several large projects underway at DIA as it expands its capacity to handle flights and passengers. The largest, a $1.5 billion set of projects on all three concourses, is adding 39 gates.

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