Construction has begun on a new $1.6 billion terminal at Los Angeles International Airport.

Mayor Eric Garcetti and other city leaders helped break ground Monday on the Midfield Satellite Concourse.

It will connect to the Tom Bradley International Terminal via an underground tunnel.

The 750,000-square-foot terminal will include 12 gates and a new baggage system, as well as restaurants and shops.

It’s scheduled to be completed in 2019.

Garcetti’s office says construction of the terminal is expected to create 6,000 jobs, produce more than $300 million in direct wages and enable the airport to add flights while relieving congestion at other terminals.

The construction is part of a multibillion-dollar modernization of the third busiest airport in the U.S.

(AP)