Another delay in a long-anticipated project at Los Angeles International Airport may keep travelers wanting to avoid the busy traffic loop waiting until 2025.
The Automated People Mover system is 96% complete but increasing construction delays and a “strained relationship” between the contractor and Los Angeles World Airports, which owns and operates LAX, have kept it from being completed, Fitch Ratings reported Thursday.
The driverless rail project, part of a $30 billion overhaul of the airport, was expected to open in 2023 but Fitch predicts the delays will push that date to around November of 2025.
The train’s two-and-a-quarter-mile-long track will connect the airport to parking structures, car rental facilities and public transit hubs.
Construction on the project started in 2019 as part of an effort to revamp LAX ahead of the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Transit experts hope the People Mover will benefit travelers by improving traffic flow at the airport and offering a time-saving option for those who rely on shuttle buses to transfer from the Metro station, the Times reported.