Sacramento International Airport breaks ground on pedestrian walkway, part of new expansion

Sacramento International Airport broke ground on its pedestrian walkway Monday, symbolizing the start of construction for one of seven projects planned as a part of the airport’s $1.3 billion “SMForward” initiative.

The billion-dollar development and expansion plan was first announced by Sacramento International Airport in February 2023, revealing plans to add new gates, a terminal expansion, a consolidated rental car center, a new terminal B parking garage, ground transportation center, a new exit road and a pedestrian walkway — all to be completed by 2028.

Dozens gathered near the Terminal B parking lot to kick off the development plan which featured airport executives, elected officials and construction leaders shoveling dirt to conclude a news conference, denoting the beginning of the pedestrian walkways’ development, which is expected to be completed by December 2025.

The walkway, once completed, is expected to provide easier accessibility to gates, making it easier for travelers to maneuver through the airport from Terminal B to Concourse B.

The pedestrian walkway will include moving sidewalks, escalators and public art pieces inside a skybridge that officials say will allow for a smoother experience at the Sacramento International Airport, which saw more than 12 million passengers in 2022 and continues to grow, as the region does. According to Stephen Clark, the county’s deputy director of airports, the airport projects a record-13.2 million passengers to travel through SMF this year.

“This is big,” said Cindy Nichol, director of airports for Sacramento County, during a Monday news conference at Sacramento International. “This is going to be the first large project that the county has ever done by construction manager risk process. So the reason we’re doing it is because we have a need for speed. … delivering a huge project like this and certainly a very large program of $1.3 billion for seven projects takes a lot of work, a lot of leadership.”

U.S. Rep. Ami Bera, who represents California’s 6th Congressional district which includes Sacramento County, wants Sacramento International Airport to be the airport of choice for Northern California travelers.

Bera spoke Monday on being proud of the changes coming to the airport leading up to the growth of the region.

His vision is that the airport becomes a conduit to welcome travelers to Sacramento whether visiting or relocating.

“You see that all around this region, you see folks moving out of the Bay Area coming up here, tremendous growth, not just in this area, but you go down to Elk Grove, Rancho (Cordova), up to Folsom, El Dorado Hills, Roseville, go to Yolo County and you see that growth in that expansion, and we can start to imagine what we want to be,” Bera said.

Bera added: “SMF is already Northern California’s regional airport, but there’s no reason for folks that are in Vacaville or Fairfield to go down to Oakland, they ought to be coming up here.”

Sacramento County Supervisor Pat Kennedy said the pedestrian walkway will create an additional 800 jobs.

“This isn’t just about Sacramento,” Kennedy said during the news conference. “(It’s) a worldwide construction project. We’re going to move people in order to move people. This is truly a great moment for Sacramento. … This pedestrian walkway is more than just a walkway. It’s really a view into the future of what we’re going to do with SMForward.”

County Supervisor Phil Serna added that he’s excited about the “moving sidewalks” coming to Sacramento’s largest airport after always seeing them inside other airports when traveling to other cities.

“You know you’ve arrived as a county when you’re going to have an automated sidewalk,” Serna said. “That’s one of the conveniences we’re going to be able to enjoy with this enclosed, new walkway. It always occurs to me when I’m out traveling and I see these airports that have these movable sidewalks, basically a flat escalator. It’s like, ‘why don’t we have one of those? We have to get one of those (in Sacramento).’”

Balfour Beatty vice president Kyle Frandsen said that the project will be 1,173 feet long, or approximately a quarter-mile, and include more than 1,800 tons of steel, four moving walkways, four escalators and three elevators.

“I have no doubt that in the end, we will turn over a successful project here,” Frandsen said. “We look forward to bringing this project in for a nice smooth landing and turning it over to the community.”

This story was originally published August 5, 2024 at 2:10 PM.