Starting this week, travellers at SFO can expect to see shrink-wrapped scaffolding covering sections of the facility’s West-facing exterior façade in four phases until the project is completed in early 2026.
The project will replace the roofing system, install new solar panels on the roof, and restore aging elements of the exterior, including the exterior structural steel, expansion joint, window-washing system, and curtain wall mullion caps. The project construction budget is $75m, the federal government having provided $31m through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
As each of the four phases encloses the work area in scaffolding, passengers will still be able to access the terminal using the normal revolving door vestibule, with the side doors closed only in the section captured by the scaffolding. In addition, the roadway lane closest to the kerb will be closed to vehicle traffic, to create a protected passenger walkway around the scaffolding area. Sections of the terminal not covered in scaffolding will be open as normal.
Opened in December 2000, the Senator Dianne Feinstein International Terminal is the largest international terminal in North America, serving over 250 million passengers since opening. It is the largest building in the world constructed on base isolators for protection against earthquakes.