SFO Moves a Future Runway Improvement Project Up to October 2020
The runway upgrade project, originally slated for 2022, will be done early during reduced flight activity.
The San Francisco International Airport (SFO) announced plans to move up a future runway improvement project, originally slated for 2022, to occur in October 2020. The project, which will upgrade an area where multiple runways intersect, is being completed nearly two years ahead of schedule to take advantage of the current reduced flight activity resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The project will repave a section of Runway 28R, where it intersects with two other runways, 1L and 1R. This will require the closure of two of SFO’s four runways for a period of 8 days, from October 8 – October 15, 2020. All runways are expected to be reopened by Friday, October 16, 2020.
SFO officials chose to advance this construction project to this current period of reduced flight activity, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to reduce the extent of delays and cancellations caused by the runway closures. During this fall period, airlines are currently planning to operate about 40% of the flights originally scheduled prior to the pandemic.
During the 8-day runway closures, Airport officials expect about 30% of all flights to experience delays, with most delays occurring on flights scheduled between 9:00 am to 12:00 noon and 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Both arriving and departing flights are expected to be affected during these periods. SFO recommends that travelers opt for early morning flights before 9:00 am PDT during this period, as delays are expected to begin after 9:00 am PDT each day during the closure.
The contract for the Runway 28R Rehabilitation Phase 1 project was awarded to Golden Gate Constructors. The total project cost is expected to be $10 million.
Originally published here
