Sacramento airport plans 7 major upgrades by 2028. When does construction start?
Sacramento International Airport provided a quarterly update this week to Sacramento County elected leaders on its plans to develop the campus with new additions and upgraded buildings as a part of its $1.3 billion “SMForward” initiative.
First announced in February 2023, the plan is to bring seven new developments including a pedestrian walkway, six to eight new gates in Terminal B, an additional garage, a new car rental center and a ground transportation center to the airport’s campus by the end of 2028.
Construction on the first of those projects, the pedestrian walkway, is set to begin next month, airport officials said in an update prepared for the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors.
Sacramento International Airport on Wednesday shared new artist renderings of the pedestrian walkway with The Sacramento Bee.
Of the seven development plans, all but one — the car rental center — have action plans that are already in process.
“The overall program is to support the growth of our region and its business and leisure needs,” said Sacramento International Airport spokesperson Lindsay Myers. “We have added nearly twenty new flights in the past year and our passenger volume is at a record high. Expanding gates, thoroughfares, and parking is all to expand our current and future growth.”
Here is the latest on where each of the projects stand, their expected costs and when construction might begin.
Pedestrian walkway
The SMForward project has started the Terminal B Concourse B Pedestrian Walkway, which is a projected $140 million from the county budget. It was announced during a Board of Supervisors meeting earlier in July that Balfour Beatty would be the designated contractor for the project. Balfour Beatty has worked on similar expansion projects at other airports, such as Los Angeles and Hong Kong international airports
According to the SMF quarterly report, their first value engineering session was held on Feb. 13-14, which resulted in a cost reduction of $6.7 million. As of now, 30% of the schematic designs are complete, and 60% of its design development is finished.
“This project creates a beautiful alternative for travelers who wish to walk or wheelchair through panoramic views of the airport to get to their gates,” Myers said. “The walkway and hub fulfill a first step in our master plan towards an eventual Concourse C, which travelers will also access through this walkway.”
Construction for the pedestrian walkway is expected to begin next month; an exact date is not yet clear. The work is expected to be completed by December 2025.
New gates
The latest project adding new gates began this month starting with building modifications.
The enabling project plans for two new gates for Concourse B and one new gate for Terminal A, which are projected to cost $16.5 million. It should be complete by spring 2025, according to the quarterly report.
Big new parking garage
Additionally, the Terminal B Parking Garage is adding 4,500 to 5,500 parking spaces. The project costs $390 million and is expected to begin in October.
“The second project we will be breaking ground on soon is the Terminal B Parking Garage. We know near parking is in high demand and to meet that demand we will be building a 5,500 space garage on the site of the current hourly lot,” Myers said. “To offset the loss of our hourly parking lot, we will be opening a South Economy parking lot prior to the hourly lot closing. We have added additional shuttle buses to our fleet to include this expansion of economy parking.”
It will take approximately two years to complete, as expected completion is slated for October 2026.
Terminal and concourse expansion
Plans to expand Terminal A and Concourse B, adding another six to eight gates, have a $300 million projected budget.
According to Sacramento International Airport’s quarterly report, the Terminal A infrastructure analysis has been initiated, whereas Concourse B expansion concept analysis began this month. Construction for the expansion projects is expected to start next year.
Concourse B expansion is said to begin August 2025 and be completed by January 2028, while Terminal A expansion is expected to begin October 2025 and finish March 2027.
New exit roadway and transportation center
A new exit roadway at Terminal A is underway. It’s a projected $15 million job that intends to begin April 2025 and be completed by May 2026.
A consolidated ground transportation center is being planned as well. The projected $50 million construction would begin May 2026 and finish by June 2027.
Auto rental facility
The only project not yet initiated is the new consolidated car rental facility. The plans are still in the works, though not much information was available other than the project is an estimated $390 million.
Construction is expected to begin in summer 2025, according to airport officials’ quarterly report. However, a contracting method and business model is still needed before approving the consolidated car rental facility project.
Will it affect commute?
Myers said that those catching flights to and from Sacramento should not be affected by the construction projects in the coming months.
“Travelers will notice some construction fencing going up and the closure of the hourly lot,” she said. “Otherwise operations will be completely normal throughout the construction process.”
