LONG BEACH -- Parking will soon get a lot easier for visitors and the more than three million passengers who frequent the Long Beach Airport.
City officials on Thursday will celebrate the long-awaited opening of the airport's new five-story, 2,000-space parking structure.
"It's a culmination of years of hard work and the start of improving customer service at the airport," said Airport Director Mario Rodriguez.
The $58 million project, which finished $2 million under budget, corrals all airport parking within walking distance of the terminal and saves the city about $85,000 per month for round-the-clock shuttles carrying passengers to a leased remote parking lot.
Roughly 45 percent of the airport's 4,935 parking spaces are in a remote lot, which airport officials lease month to month from Boeing Co. The new structure will save the airport about $1.8 million annually.
Meanwhile, the new structure is expected to generate $350,000 for the airport per month.
Airport officials also saved on time. The project's contractor, ARB Inc. of Lake Forest, began work in December 2009 on roadway and infrastructure improvements, then began building the parking structure in April 2010. Completion of the project, originally set for late 2011, was four months early.
Integrated into the garage are solar panels, which airport officials are hoping to have installed by theof 2012, said spokesman Jordan Syms. Airport officials are still working to finalize a contract with Southern California Edison.
With the opening of the parking structure and ongoing construction of the airport's new $45 million passenger concourse set to open in 2013, Rodriguez said the look and feel of the airport will have "a unique Long Beach flavor."
For more on the Airport Modernization Plan and other airport news, visit www.lgb.org, or sign up with the City's e-Notify system, on Facebook at Long Beach Airport and on Twitter at LBAirport.
As of Friday, parking rates will be $19 a day for Garage A and $17 a day for Garage B. Lot D will not be accessible to new cars as of Friday, but cars currently in this lot can remain, according to the airport's website.
Staff writer Kristopher Hanson contributed to this report.
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