The San Francisco International Airport (SFO) announced the launch of a project to upgrade the roof and façade of the Senator Dianne Feinstein International Terminal. Starting this week, travelers 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, of which $31M is funded by the federal government 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, but the side doors will be closed only the section captured by the scaffolding. In addition, the roadway lane closest to the curb 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. Developed to meet the growing demand for international travel, the International Terminal was the centerpiece of an ambitious Master Plan, approved by the Airport Commission in 1992. Breaking ground in October 1995, the $2.6 billion project was the largest construction project in North America, and the largest public works project in the state of California. Even 24 years later, it remains the largest building in the world constructed on base isolators for protection against earthquakes.
