It has been several months since the well-known Olympic kids mural at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport was taken down, and the installation of a giant digital screen to take its place is taking months longer than expected.
The "Spirit of Atlanta" photo collage of children in Centennial Olympic Park, which used to greet travelers riding the escalators up to the domestic terminal from the people-mover train tunnel, was removed from the wall in June.
Credit: Kelly Yamanouchi
Credit: Kelly Yamanouchi
It was
by a giant digital screen promoting Atlanta attractions and displaying airport information.
But the installation of the screen wall has taken more money and more time than originally anticipated.
Airport officials had hoped to complete construction by the holidays. But it will now take until January to finish the $2.4 million project.
The cost includes $600,000 for the digital screen and the construction work for the installation of the screen.
Another $882,000 was added to the project to pay for the expense of a new scaffolding system that hangs from the ceiling. The Atlanta City Council approved the additional expense in September.
According to airport documents, during the construction planning phase, "it was discovered that the existing conditions would not support a floor mounted scaffolding system," so the project had to switch to a scaffolding system suspended from the steel frame above the ceiling.
Another issue discovered was that the sprinkler system in the ceiling "was found to conflict with beam clamps used in the new scaffolding system," requiring the sprinkler system to be relocated. And, the ceiling beams must be reinforced with cross bracing to support the scaffold.
The work also includes installing sheetrock, new LED lighting and steel to support the video wall, according to Hartsfield-Jackson interim general manager Roosevelt Council.
Credit: Kelly Yamanouchi
Credit: Kelly Yamanouchi
