The San Francisco International Airport (SFO) announced that it will complete the Runway 28L Reconstruction project one week ahead of schedule. Crews have completed the installation of a new base layer and are repaving and repainting the surface layer of the runway. Based on this progress, SFO expects to reopen all runways at 9:00 pm on Thursday, September 19th, a full week ahead of its original scheduled date.
“I am proud to announce the re-opening of Runway 28L at SFO, ahead of schedule,” said Airport Director Ivar C. Satero. “This tremendous accomplishment was made possible by the outstanding collaboration between Airport staff, airlines at SFO, the FAA, and our construction partners, and I am grateful to the entire team for completing this work safely and expeditiously. Most importantly, I would like to acknowledge the inconvenience this work caused to our customers, and thank them for their patience during this critical project, which will ensure the long-term reliability of our runway system at SFO."
Since the closure began at 12:01 am Sep. 7, crews have been working continuously 24 hours per day to create the new base layer for the Runway 28L. Because the previous base layer dates back to the early 1960s, the project team built time into the schedule to allow for unknown conditions below the base layer, which would have required additional excavation and material installation. These contingencies were not required, as the soil below was found to be stable, allowing crews to move immediately to the installation of a new pavement structure.
Until all runways have reopened, SFO still advises travelers to continue to expect delays and potential cancellations and recommends that travelers contact their airline directly for updates.
The total length of Runway 28L is 11,381 feet. The project reconstructed a 1,900-foot section of Runway 28L, replaced lighting and drainage infrastructure and overlaid a 600-foot section of Runway 1L.
SFO repaved the entire top layer of Runway 28L in spring 2017. During this project, core sampling and ground-penetrating radar indicated that the base layer was showing signs of fatigue cracking due to the large amount of aircraft activity in this area. This issue required additional investigation and engineering that could not be addressed at that time. SFO staff have evaluated multiple options and concluded that the best long-term solution is to excavate the section of Runway 28L at the intersection of Runway 1L and 1R to reconstruct the pavement structure, comprised of a cementitious aggregate base and a top asphalt surface.
With input from airlines at SFO, the project team selected the period of Sep. 7-27 for the closure to avoid the busy summer and year-end holiday travel seasons. This time frame was also chosen for the low probability of precipitation, as dry weather is necessary for asphalt paving.
