Southwest Florida International Airport’s terminal expansion project will cost at least $135 million more than its original $331 million budget and will be completed about three years behind schedule, according to an email sent to port authority executives from a resigning executive.
The Lee County Port Authority, which manages RSW and Page Field and its real estate holdings, has had at least four resignations in upper management this year.
Port authority Executive Director Steven Hennigan has declined interview requests since being named to the job July 30 by the Board of County Commissioners, who double as port authority commissioners.
At 9:30 a.m. Sept. 5 at the Airport Training and Conference Center, 15924 Air Cargo Lane, commissioners are scheduled to consider approving an updated budget for the separate Terminal E construction project at a little more than $1 billion, according to port authority paperwork. In addition, commissioners will consider awarding engineering and consulting firm Atkins Realis a $28.2 million contract for the same project.
In May, Atkins pledged $3.3 million to the port authority to cover its losses on the terminal expansion project, and the commissioners officially accepted that pledge.
The terminal expansion and new terminal construction projects will combine to cost about $1.5 billion. The funding does not come from property taxes. Most of the funds come from general aviation revenue bonds paid for with fees collected from travelers, but state and federal grants are also part of the funding.
A WINK News report Aug. 5 about the departing port authority employees and the delayed terminal expansion project prompted one staffer to email port authority executives a list of grievances. Project Manager Tony Bonucci wrote in the email that he took offense at the WINK report because the port authority made him seem at fault for the project’s delays and overruns.
On. Aug. 6, Bonucci sent the email, obtained by Gulfshore Business and WINK News through a public records request, to eight port authority leaders.
“We all know that Manhattan (the construction contractor) told you at a meeting we are going over budget by $135 million dollars and three extra years delay on a three-year project,” Bonucci wrote. “Then I felt the need to leave because of the direction you have taken this project and my need to protect my 45-year work reputation. I gave my resignation along with five weeks notice, and you do this. This is the most despicable thing I have seen in 67 years of life. You should be ashamed of yourselves. In 2 minutes, you decimated a 45-year career that I have worked so hard for. Every person that saw this report says it looks like I got fired and that I am responsible for the delay, which clearly had nothing to do with me. I know I can’t count on you to make this right so I will seek legal advice to get the full and correct story on the street.”
Bonucci declined to comment.
Former airport director Ben Siegel, Director of Properties and Risk Management Ed Moran, Risk and Insurance Manager Trevor Dean and Bonucci each resigned this year, having combined for almost a century of tenure at an airport that opened in 1982, was rebuilt in 2005 and was supposed to have completed the terminal expansion this fall. The newest project instead has stalled.
Moran’s resignation letter said, “Staffing challenges and recent series of management changes have made me conclude it is time to continue my career elsewhere.”
The biggest issue with the expansion project, according to Bonucci’s email, was with steel girders ordered by subcontractor Atkins.
“We all know Atkins has over 1,400 steel corrections, which have led into 11 months plus of redesign, making the project a nightmare,” Bonucci wrote. “We all know I was the one that caught the failing steel connections that would have collapsed the building that night (per your engineers), but instead we removed weight and shored up the steel, keeping the building from collapsing. I have picked up on so many mistakes that I should not have had to.”
Bonucci also wrote: “For example, in September, I said to close the project down until 100% of the corrected plans were submitted in order to be financially responsible and to track all overages. This is only a small percentage of recommendations that were offered but never followed. My yearly reviews were all excellent. I was never told that I was doing something wrong. In fact, I was always told how happy you were to have me on staff. In fact, I was frequently thanked for remaining on the project. I was never included in the project senior management meetings where you continued to make the wrong decisions on how to proceed with the project.”
Port authority Chief Communications and Marketing Officer Vicki Moreland emailed a statement Aug. 26 stating, “The design engineers are working with the construction manager on the best ways to accomplish changes for the Terminal Expansion Project Phase 1. Once that is completed, we will be going to the Board of Port Commissioners for their endorsement of any budget and schedule adjustments.”
An April 10 record from Manhattan to the port authority detailed some of the construction issues. The engineers are going through 189 notice of variation changes issued by the design team, along with port authority input.
“The main concerns involve the structural delay and design deficiencies,” Manhattan said. “The critical path schedule has been delayed with the upcoming incorporation of the [notice of variation changes]. … Manpower from subcontractors will be a concern with structural contractors demobilizing and decreasing their crews while the redesign continues. This will be challenging when critical path work resumes.”
Airport infrastructure project issues are happening across the country, said Paul Bowers, publisher of Airport Improvement trade magazine, because of an excessive demand on engineering and design and construction companies and a shortened supply of workers in all related fields.
“We all want to travel,” Bowers said, “or most of us do. But we want to do it safely, and we want to do it in facilities that look good and deliver.
“There’s a lot of pressure on airports because of the growth. We have unprecedented numbers of passengers traveling through airports. There’s a need for facility upgrades, runways and terminals. Fortunately, there’s money available to fund these. There’s a lot of pressure to perform to get infrastructure to meet the demand, not only for today, but for tomorrow, as well. There’s a lot of competition out there for resources to accommodate the airport’s need for growth. The consulting firms, architectural firms are stretched. They’ve got their own issues in hiring enough people.”
RSW served 677,137 passengers in July, the most recent monthly data available. That was the second-best July in the 42-year history of the airport. That kind of demand is happening at other airports across the country, Bowers said.
“It’s not a perfect world,” Bowers said of the delays and cost overruns. “For what it’s worth, they’re not the only airport out there where that’s happening.”
