Bradley International Airport Ground Transportation Center

Windsor Locks, Conn.

Award of Merit

Submitted by: KBE Building Corp.

Owner: Conn. Airport Authority/Bradley International Airport

Developer: Conrac Solutions

Lead Design Firm: PGAL

Design-Builder: Austin Commercial LP

Civil Engineer: Urban Engineers Inc.

Structural Engineer: Walter P Moore

MEP Engineer: Burns Engineering

Subcontractors: KBE Building Corp.; Manafort Brothers Inc.; Elite Construction Resources LLC; Acranom Masonry; Barrett Roofing Co.; Richards Corp.


Spanning 20 acres, the three-building, 1.5-million-sq-ft complex consolidates all rental car companies, providing convenient access for passengers while also eliminating the need for shuttle bus connections. A multilevel vertical circulation core linking the garage and quick turnaround area minimizes the overall building footprint, leading to a compact and efficient layout while also providing a prototype for future airport facilities. Installing 3,000 drilled aggregate piers for the foundations required 11 months, while a covered open-truss pedestrian bridge was built in phases to minimize disruptions to underlying roadway traffic and passenger movement through the departure area.

A drainage system reclaims and cleans 85% of water used for washing cars, while an energy-efficient wall design reduces temperature fluctuations of interior spaces. Plasma air purifying equipment cleans the air with bipolar ionization to help remove airborne bacteria and viruses. Pre-assembled precast concrete elements for the bridge coupled with a fast-track design-build approach saved a year’s worth of construction time.