Ladies and gentlemen, please observe the "fasten your seatbelt sign" - the building trades are preparing to bring the Midfield Terminal in for a landing.

Nearly four years after the first dirt was moved on construction of the $1.2 Midfield Terminal at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, the largest public works project in the state's history is beginning to wind down.

In mid-January, there were still about a thousand construction workers on the project, and a good deal of work remained to be done. But the new 97-gate terminal in Romulus with the cumbersome name - the Edward H. McNamara Terminal/Northwest WorldGateway - is on course to open on Feb. 24.

"We've had such an aggressive schedule, from the design, to the hiring of the contractors, to the administration of the contracts," said Chuck McCloskey, Northwest Airlines' director of construction for the Midfield Terminal. "It's a challenge out there every day, but we have a good crew of contractors and a good labor force." Huber, Hunt and Nichols is the general contractor on the project.

Getting to the point of moving passengers through the mile-long terminal seems a long way off, but signs of completion are everywhere. Some sections of the terminal were virtually complete during our visit on Jan. 21, waiting only for plastic to be removed from seats and a few other finishing touches. In other areas, there was still a significant amount of work to do, especially in the food, clothing and specialty shops that line the concourse. Wayne County and Northwest Airlines are holding fast to the Feb. 24 opening day schedule.

"It's looking like a realistic opening date, but the entire terminal may not be open," said Kevin Wieczorek, vice president of operations for Motor City Electric, a subcontractor on the project.

The behemoth $1.2 billion project has had its share of problems, with cost overruns, an opening that has twice been delayed and numerous change orders. Wieczorek said one of the biggest headaches took place in September, when electrical subcontractor The State Group walked off the job, leaving in their wake materials and fixtures that couldn't be located, mislaid plans and general confusion.

"It was a horrible mess, but Local 58 provided us with top-notch people to get the job done, and we kicked butt," Wieczorek said. "We had 400 people out here to get caught up. If there's one thing about this job that I'm proud of, it's the way the workers have come through."

When the terminal opens and the bugs get worked out, all the difficulties involving the construction process will probably be forgotten - just like they were after similar complaints were made during the construction of Comerica Park. In fact, with the new Midfield Terminal, the traveling public is sure to see the facility as a vast improvement - the existing terminals get abysmal ratings from the traveling public.

"The whole project is going to be an asset to the community," McCloskey said. "Passengers are going to love this facility. It will move them efficiently and it will treat them right."

The new $1.2 billion terminal features:

• 97 gates
• 18 luggage claim carousels
• 11,500-parking spaces, with the largest parking structure in the world.
• International processing facility, with the capability of processing 3,200 passengers per hour
• 60 immigration positions
• 25 commuter gates with passenger-loading bridges
• 1.5 miles of moving walkways
• Two 200-passenger indoor trams
• More than 80 shops and restaurants - the second-largest concessions program of any airport in the United States

"This is probably one of the most important public works projects that's ever been undertaken in southeastern Michigan," said Northwest Airlines Chief Executive Officer Richard Anderson in a published interview last November. "It will be monumental, not only for southeastern Michigan, (but) it's for all of Michigan . . . particularly the regional jet facility that we built. It is the link for Escanaba and Traverse City and the small communities of Michigan, too. It will transform this airport to the highest-quality international hub facility in the world.

"Our idea is we are going to surpass Chicago as the most convenient and most customer-friendly connection point for the upper Midwest and the large population centers east of the Mississippi."

The terminal is designed to accommodate 30 million passengers a year.

Bob Luxon, job superintendent for Plumbers Local 98 working for subcontractor John E. Green, said that the project peaked out at about 200 pipe trades workers. In recent weeks they were down to 16 plumbers and pipe fitters, who were "busy making final adjustments, doing odds and ends and basically just wrapping things up."

"It's really a very impressive design and a beautiful building," Luxon said. "There have been some rough times out here, but all the building trades can be proud of the work they've done. The tradespeople have built a landmark that will be here for years to come."

WORKING IN THE service pit in front of one of the moving walkways at the new mile-long Midfield Terminal at Metro Airport are Mike Cicchetti and Van Wiley Jr. of Elevator Constructors Local 36 and Otis Elevator Co. The terminal is scheduled to open Feb. 24.

A TOOL TRAY is rolled down the north concourse by Tom Gilleran of IBEW Local 58 and Triangle Electric. "In spite of the difficulties that we have encountered on this job, the work of all the trades has been impeccable," said 58 BA Ed Kohler.