ROMULUS - Across from the gleaming five-year-old McNamara Terminal, and astride an active taxiway and runway, rises the new North Terminal Redevelopment Project at Metro Airport.

The North Terminal is a half-mile-long, $443 million terminal that will replace the airport's aging Berry and Smith terminals.

According to Wayne County Airport Authority, the new terminal, which has been expanded to include about 31 gates, "will complete the airport's mission of modernizing the entire airport terminal complex and create a world-class facility that provides the type of services all our passengers and visitors deserve." Completion of this terminal, following the opening of the well-received 99-gate McNamara Terminal, is expected to rank the airport as among the nation's best.

"With its simple linear design and modern conveniences, the north terminal will represent a significant upgrade in customer convenience compared to the Smith and Berry Terminals," said airport authority CEO Lester Robinson. "It will also provide a considerable improvement in efficiency for the airlines."

The joint venture of Walbridge- Barton Malow are managing the construction of the new terminal, which will encompass about 830,000 square feet in the vicinity of the demolished Davey Terminal and old Westin Hotel. Foundation work began in September 2005.

Walbridge-Barton Malow General Supt. Al Stevens said approximately 200 construction workers are currently on the job, a number which will increase to 700-750 at peak employment. The project is projected to be complete in the summer of 2008

"It's a great crew," Stevens said. "One thing about working in this region, you can't beat the construction people around here." The trades are currently putting up steel up, moving dirt, and installing underground utilities, storm water lines and foundations.

The North Terminal will have two levels. The upper level will have ticket areas, luggage check-in, security, shops and restaurants. The lower level will be reserved for baggage and security functions.

Hardhats are currently able to park on in an area close to their jobs on an area that will become a runway apron. As work progresses, that space will that will become unavailable, and they will have to be transported to their jobs from off-site parking.

"We have a large project in a small location," Stevens said. "It's a half-mile long project, but it's very narrow, and we're utilizing the site to its fullest. We're trying to make it as convenient as possible for the workers to get to the site, for as long as we can."

Consideration is being given to workers on the project in another form: safety. In May, Walbridge-Barton Malow, MIOSHA, the Wayne County Airport Authority and the Michigan Building and Construction Trades Council signed on to an unprecedented commitment to making this a safe work site.

The partnership agreement was established to raise awareness and promote safety for all personnel employed in the Detroit Metropolitan Airport construction project. Recognizing that engineering techniques alone are not enough to ensure that exposure to hazards are controlled, the program includes coordination, monitoring and educating the personnel involved in the project. These components will be implemented through the same principles of management control applied throughout all phases of the project.

The goal: zero injuries on the project. Through November, Stevens said, there were 208,000 man-hours worked on the project with one recordable injury and no lost-time injuries.

Key elements of the safety and health program for the project include:

"Partnering with MIOSHA allows us to utilize all the team members in the pursuit of that goal," said Mark S. Klimbal, CSP, Corporate Safety Director, Barton Malow Company. "Through this cooperative effort, we can focus even more resources on the requirement to run a project driven by safety, quality, and productivity."

STACKING CONCRETE FORMS at the Metropolitan Airport North Terminal at Metro Airport is Jeff Roberts of Laborers Local 334.

SETTING A COLUMN in an area that will be the North Terminal's lower-level baggage-handling area are Cam Montour and Ralph Birchmeier of Iron Workers Local 25 and Midwest Steel. The crane operator is Mike Reynolds of Operating Engineers Local 324.

WORKING IN THE Superior Electric trailer at the North Terminal site are (l-r) electricians Ken Burnahm and Dan Geppert of IBEW Local 58.