Miami International Airport reopens 3 of the 4 Concourse D Skytrain stations
MIAMI - Over the last six months, some passengers at Miami International Airport faced long walks to their terminals because the Skytrain was out of service.
On Friday, that changed. The airport reopened three out of the four Concourse D Skytrain stations.
The Skytrain was shut down last September after an inspection found three columns that support the train near station 1 had cracks.
Since then the system, which has 100 columns, has undergone repairs and vigorous testing to tackle structural issues. During the six months of repairs, some passengers had to make a trek, some up to a mile, to their terminals. The airport tried to offset the issue by providing trolleys and golf carts to move passengers
While one Skytrain station remains out of service, repair crews made enough progress fixing cracks discovered under the tracks to allow trains to resume trips for most of the mile-long track that runs above Concourse D. MIA will continue to provide a courtesy trolley service for passengers between stations 1 and 2.
"We understand that this decision may have caused inconvenience to some of our passengers, but taking the Skytrain out of service to repair, strengthen, and test the system prior to reopening were necessary steps to ensure your safety and security. Our team is hard at work to get the remainder of the system open early this summer, further enhancing the efficiency and convenience of our airport experience," said Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava in a statement.
The total cost incurred for these repairs amounts to $4.2 million.
The Skytrain repairs were part of a much larger project to fix up the airport. All 616 elevators, walkways, and escalators are in the process of being upgraded. Obviously, they can't do this all at once, they will do 30 at a time for the next five to seven years.
A total of 33 bathrooms have already been modernized in concourses D, H, and J, and 32 more in the airport's other concourses are on schedule for renovation in 2024.
The airport is also replacing or refurbishing all 126 passenger boarding bridges, with the first 32 completed and 10 bridges scheduled for completion every year through 2028.
The total cost for the maintenance is $1.7 billion.
The airport also has big plans for the future, they want a new parking garage, hotel, and more. The county has dedicated $7 billion for the modernization.