From the City of Phoenix
:
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood joined Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon and Phoenix City Council members today to announce two projects that will bring thousands of jobs to Arizona.
Secretary LaHood presented a $10.5 million check to the Mayor for the completion of a taxiway reconstruction project on the northwest side of the Airport. This project will create 285 construction jobs.
The U.S. Transportation Secretary, Mayor Gordon and Phoenix City Council members also broke ground and unveiled the name of Sky Harbor’s automated train: the PHX Sky Train. Stage one of the PHX Sky Train will connect with METRO light rail and transport passengers and employees between 44th Street and Washington, East Economy Parking and Terminal 4. Stage one, which will be completed in 2013 is creating 5,900 jobs.
Mayor Gordon has been meeting with leaders in Washington D.C. to discuss the acceleration of the PHX Sky Train construction to Terminals 3 and 2. An additional $200 million in federal stimulus funding would create thousands of additional jobs and serve all three terminals at Sky Harbor seven years earlier than originally planned.
“We are grateful to our partners in Washington for recognizing the ongoing infrastructure needs at one of the nation’s ten busiest airports,” said Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon. “We are also excited that the Recovery funding for taxiway improvements is putting nearly 300 Arizonans back to work.”
While in Phoenix, Secretary LaHood also visited Sky Harbor’s Air Traffic Control Tower and spoke at the 18th Annual Phoenix International Aviation Symposium.
We’re pretty stoked about this here at The Journal – if you share in our excitement (or not), we’d love to hear about it in the comments.
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Very cool – just wish that the Metro originally went through the airport, but also wish that the PHX Sky Train would stop at 24th Street station in addition to the 44th Street station. I think it’s funny there’s a big sign at the 24th Street station that says “PHX Sky Harbor – Making Connections” but there’s no airport connection from this station. On another note, my roommate is a flight attendant and he can walk out the door from our place at 4th Avenue and McKinley, walk to Central Station (by the Jellyfish), take the metro and the terminal shuttle bus and be inside Terminal 4 in about 30-35 minutes… that’s pretty great!
Ben
The best part about the news is we’ll actually get to see not one, but THREE Valley rail projects completed in our lifetime. Keep your fingers crossed the extension along Main Street in Mesa goes as planned!