According to airport authorities, the nearly two-year-old Silver ramp at Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport‘s main terminal which has earned honors for its dominating architecture requires more than US$2 million in renovations to fix flooding and probable cracking concerns.
Recently a Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) committee unanimously approved a motion to dismiss the original contractor for the US$245 million ramps and engage a new firm to solve problems that arose during construction. The gleaming Silver Ramp at Terminal 1 is difficult to miss from Highway 5. The 11-story skyscraper brought 5,000 parking spots, a new rental car center, and a transportation hub for buses, shuttles, bicycles, and light rail to the airport complex.
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The most recognized features of the Minneapolis-St Paul silver ramp
The Silver Ramp has received several awards, including the Grand Award from the Minnesota chapter of the American Council of Engineering Companies, which recognized the structure’s “outstanding creativity, complexity, accomplishment, and value.” The façade, which employs unique tubes with darker colors near the ground and softer tones on higher floors, is one of the structure’s most distinguishing features. On sunny days, the skyscraper appears to blend into the sky.
It also has Minnesota’s longest escalator, at 56 feet, which surpasses the one at Minneapolis’ Guthrie Theater. However, certain complications have arisen after work began in 2017. Water that failed to drain correctly pooled in little “ponds” between the second and eleventh levels, according to MAC authorities.
“It truly is a magnificent structure, and with multi-modal capabilities, it will serve travelers for many, many years,” Bridget Rief, the MAC’s vice president of planning and development, said at a recent meeting.
The MAC’s Planning, Development, and Environment Committee recommended on Monday that Restoration and Construction Services of Clearwater, Minn., be awarded a $2.4 million bid to remedy the problems. The sum represents less than 1% of the ramp’s construction budget, which is supported by airport revenue bonds and customer facility charges.
