Construction of a new $35-million San Bernardino International Airport Terminal on the site of a former Air Force base in California is on target for completion in 11 months, with the goal of luring passengers from existing Los Angeles airports.

“It is not literally a design-build project, but many aspects are similar,” says Steve Wagner, project manager for the design team of Irvine, Calif.-based GKK Works, the construction manager and designer. “I would call it accelerated construction with overlapping design and construction.”

The 71,000-sq-ft project is located 60 miles east of Los Angeles, on a 1,329-acre site once occupied by Norton Air Force Base, which closed in 1994. NBI General Contractors, Redlands, Calif., began in August to renovate the existing 45,000-sq-ft terminal building and build a new 26,000-sq-ft concourse.

When completed in June, the new terminal will offer three gates in a two-story structure. Wagner says GKK is currently master-planning a phase-two expansion to bring the total to 10 gates.

To keep the project on pace with the rapid, 11-month schedule, Wagner says flexibility with work-order changes was key. “Because we are still essentially designing as we go, we are very open to suggestions by the subcontractors,” he says.  “I remember in our design for column covers, we wanted to use fiberglass-reinforced concrete. The contractor had a difficult time and some schedule issues in procuring those kind of covers because they have to be fabricated off-site. So the contractor suggested we use stainless-steel covers instead. We did, and it probably saved on the order of 10 weeks.”

The project is currently about 25% complete. By Jan. 25, Wagner says design will be finished and the project will jump to about 40% completion.

Officials with San Bernardino International Airport Authority, which owns the airport, say they are in talks with four unnamed airlines for regular passenger service to begin next summer. In 2005 the authority spent $34 million to refurbish the existing 60-year-old runway.