The San Francisco International Airport (SFO) announced the reopening of its longest runway, 28 Right, following a four-month closure to repave the surface layer. While auxiliary work such as taxiway and lighting improvements will continue, all runways are once again open for operational use.
During the four-month closure, the project team accomplished the following:
- Paved the equivalent of 75 football fields
- Laid over 60 miles of cabling for tarmac lighting infrastructure
- Installed over 2000 feet of pipes for drainage
- Coordinated more than 1000 truck deliveries onto the tarmac each day
The project team will continue auxiliary work at the northwest end of the Airport, including improvements in taxiway geometry and the installation of new lighting. To give crews adequate space to complete this work while providing sufficient runway length for aircraft, Runway 28 Left will be temporarily shortened by approximately 3500 feet from the period of September 8, 2021 to October 4, 2021. During this period, Runway 28 Left will only be used for landing aircraft; no departing flights will take off over the project site. This temporary adjustment is not anticipated to cause any significant flight delays during typical weather conditions.
Runway 28 Right was last repaved in 2009. The repaving project was originally scheduled to occur in 2022, but was accelerated to take advantage of reduced flight schedules resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. In October 2020, SFO completed an accelerated project to upgrade an area where multiple runways intersect. This latest repaving is engineered to last at least 10 years.
Golden Gate Constructors, a joint venture between DeSilva Gates Construction and Graniterock, was awarded the contract for this work. The total project cost is expected to be $149 million.
