A full council vote is needed to approve the contract, which will include the replacement of 47 airport bridges and the renovation of another dozen. The bridges, which link the terminals to the airplanes, are part of a $184-million renovation project going on at KCAI.
The decision to go with Jetway Systems was based largely on a review of the bids done by Burns & McDonnell engineering firm and Aviation Director Russell Widmar. Burns & McDonnell officials visited both company's facilities.
After checking references, Burns & McDonnell, in a statement said that schedules by the Thyssen Stearns company had "typically not been met" and that the company had "product design issues" such as water leaks on the bridges.
Jetway Systems' review showed a strong track record in construction and maintenance. The report showed that Jetway was capable of producing six bridges per week. Thyssen was said to be able to produce six per month.
Thyssen Stearns President Ramon Sotomayor sent a letter to the city council stating the company had recently completed a bridge for an airport in Fort Lauderdale, FL and that the project was on schedule with no problems. He also submitted several letters of recommendation.
One letter, from Wesley O. Friedman, senior airport planner for American Airlines, stated, "While we may have had some bumps in the road with Thyssen in the past, attributed to start-up issues and the introduction of a new product line to their U.S. factory, their performance and quality have substantially improved in a short time."
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