Prefabricated Module Installation Kicks Off $2.6B Terminal Project at San Francisco International Airport
Sections of prefabricated passenger corridors rolled into place in August.
Photo courtesy of Turner Construction via LinkedIn
A design-build team is using prefabricated modules to create two temporary passenger corridors as part of the $2.6-billion Terminal 3 West Modernization project at San Francisco International Airport (SFO). The Turner-Gensler-TEF team broke ground on the project earlier this year to renovate the 650,000-sq-ft western half of Terminal 3, including a seismic retrofit, an expanded security checkpoint and new passenger amenities. The project will also create 200,000 sq ft of additional space that is expected to open in fall 2027.
The 1,000-ft West Corridor and 400-ft East Corridor were fabricated as 11 modules at an air cargo yard and transported across the airfield over 11 consecutive nights last month on self-propelled modular transporters provided by Italian firm Fagioli.
“We wanted to turn T3 into a landside construction zone so work didn’t have to go through the airfield,” says Judi Mosqueda, SFO chief development officer. Airport staff and the design-build team worked together to come up with the plan for two corridors that won’t have to be constantly reconfigured during construction.
Moreover, the team couldn’t close down any gates until July, says Michael Fahrenholz, Turner senior project manager. “That put a huge damper on the project start. The idea to prefabricate took off. So right before Thanksgiving, the corridors will be open, and we can start with heavy demolition.”
The team started prefabrication in February and began building foundations for the corridors, says Nino Adamo, Turner vice president and general manager. The 30-ft-tall sections were transported about a mile to their final destination.
The temporary corridors will have windows overlooking the airfield, audio recordings and artwork representing the Bay Area. When disassembled, they could be stored and re-used for other applications, Adamo adds.
The T3 program is the biggest piece of SFO’s Ascent capital program Phase 1.5, which consists of carryover projects from pandemic disruptions. Other projects, including cargo facilities, parking structures and improvements to Customs and Border Protection facilities, will commence in the next couple of years, says Mosqueda.
The upgraded terminal is scheduled to open in the fall of 2027, with a six-story building housing lounges and office space to follow in 2028.
