LaGuardia Airport Builds Pedestrian Bridges Using 3D Laser Scanning Services

The last construction milestone has been achieved on a $5 billion public-private collaboration, the biggest of its type in aviation history in the United States. The installation of the second of two pedestrian bridges 60 feet over a busy runway last month signaled the conclusion of considerable development on LaGuardia International Airport’s new $5.1 billion Terminal B. The old terminal is currently being demolished as the greatest public-private aviation project in the United States continues to progress toward an on-time completion late this year. This is exciting news for the airport. The team working on this project utilized the latest technology like 3D laser scanning services. 

The 482-foot-long western pedestrian bridge and the 440-foot-long eastern pedestrian bridge, each weighing 2,500 tons, are the first of their sort and have added two miles of taxiway space. LaGuardia Gateway partners with Vantage, Skanska, and JLC Infrastructure. Skanska Walsh is the joint venture’s design-build component. HOK and WSP collaborated on the design.

These beautiful designs could not have been done or created without the help of 3D laser scanning services for many reasons. Think again if you believe that 3D laser scanning services are just for tech geeks. This technology allows teams to work together to utilize the space better than ever before, thanks to the accurate details that 3D scanning services capture. 

For example, this new airport terminal is approximately 600 feet closer to the Grand Central Parkway than the previous terminal was. They were able to use a 3D laser scan to conserve space when building, expand it in other areas, and create two beautiful bridges. 

The skyway bridges connect the departure hall to the island concourses and vice versa. Any aircraft at a gate may only enter or leave in one of two ways. Because the concourse is round, if an aircraft blocks one section of the taxiway, [the parked airplane] may approach the gate in the other direction. This has a major impact on gate delays. The airport has created a way to make passengers happier by reducing the time they sit in the airport for flights. 

How It Was Built Using 3D Laser Scanning Services

The departure hall portion of the 1.3 million-square-foot terminal was constructed utilizing a temporary 33-foot-high, 200,000-square-foot steel “dancing floor” that boosted worker safety on the ground. This allowed many people to work thousands of hours on the project without significant accidents or injuries. 

Using 3D laser scanning services, the teams who had conflicting schedules could still view the bridges, the process of the project, and work together even while being separated. This technology has opened up a way to work longer and harder on a project even when a team member is not physically onsite.