Skanska delivers $380M LAX project, touts small business partnerships

Skanska has completed a $380 million project at Los Angeles International Airport focused on roadways and utility work, according to an announcement shared with Construction Dive.

The Los Angeles World Airports Roadways, Utilities and Enabling project improved public transportation access at LAX and links four adjacent projects to reduce congestion and aid travelers at one of the world’s busiest airports, per the July 22 announcement.

The roadways, utilities and enabling project was a series of 16 small yet high-priority projects necessary for LAX’s $5.5 billion Landside Access Modernization Program, which includes the SkyLink — formerly known as the Automated People Mover — a rental car center and parking, the LAWA website says. Construction work, which began in November 2020, included utility relocation and roadway improvements.

The project delivered about 365,000 square feet of street paving around the airport and surrounding transportation network, Skanska spokesperson Meghan Carvalho told Construction Dive via email. Crews installed 8 lane-miles of pavement striping and roadway signage as part of the road work, as well as 1.5 miles of bike lanes, Carvalho said.

Skanska USA Civil, the American infrastructure arm of the Stockholm-based builder, completed work in May, according to the announcement. It has since released a case study highlighting the impact of the firm’s diverse business enterprise outreach.

Small business targets

Skanska said it surpassed all of its goals for small and local business participation across multiple categories, including:

• $91 million, or 24%, of awards to 139 small business enterprises, above the 20% goal.
• $89.7 million, or 24%, of awards to 52 local business enterprises, above the 7% goal.
• $44.2 million, or 12% to 40 local small business enterprises, above the 3% goal.
• $18.8 million, or 5%, to 19 disabled veteran business enterprises, above the 3% goal.

In total, Skanska says it contracted 152 certified suppliers and subcontractors for 170 contracts worth more than $160.5 million. The higher number of contracts was due to businesses working for multiple firms, depending on the tier at which they were hired.

“When local businesses are given a real opportunity, the benefits extend far beyond the jobsite,” Teresa Maxwell, inclusion manager at Skanska USA Civil West, said in the release. “That kind of success is exactly what makes infrastructure for Los Angeles more resilient, more representative, and more impactful.” 

Skanska’s case study attributes exceeding these goals to active and frequent outreach, including 368 events and trainings, with 1,790 firms invited to bid on work. That was only possible through partnerships with trade groups, the case study says, such as the National Association of Women in Construction and the National Association of Minority Contractors.

“True inclusion doesn’t just check a box—it elevates the quality of the project, strengthens the workforce, and creates lasting impact for the communities within the Airport Impact Area at LAX,” Traci Watson, NAMC SoCal president, said in the case study text.

Community outreach programs

As part of the LAWA RUE job, Skanska supported the HireLAX apprenticeship readiness program, which trains local residents in construction apprenticeships and positions them for consideration on LAWA construction work through contractors and local craft unions. 

Since launch, HireLAX has graduated over 375 participants and placed over 264 into union construction jobs, Skanska’s release said.

Over the course of the RUE project, there were 2,258 total craft/union workers, Skanska’s case study says, with 706 local workers, surpassing LAWA’s project labor agreement’s local hiring goal of 30%.