San Diego International Airport Aims High Structurally, Sustainably and Aesthetically

San Diego International Airport Aims High Structurally, Sustainably and AestheticallyApril 8, 2026San Diego International Airport Aims High Structurally, Sustainably and AestheticallyApril 8, 2026Photo courtesy Griffith Co.The airport’s location right by the ocean posed geotechnical challenges including extreme amounts of groundwater.Jeff YodersAileen ChoProjectsTransportation ✕ A decade ago, crews squeezed construction of San Diego County Regional Airport Authority’s $1-billion Green Build program—including a 445,000-sq-ft expansion of Terminal 2, two 17,000-sq-ft curbside ticket lobbies, an elevated departure roadway, six overpasses, and parking lots—into a 661-acre footprint while operations continued at the nation’s busiest single-runway airport. The sequel, its New Terminal 1, is even bigger, and draws on lessons learned from that previous experience. San Diego International Airport (SAN) is undergoing a $3.8-billion program to replace the 1960s-era Terminal 1 and build a 5,200-space parking plaza, some 4 miles of a baggage handling system and a 5-mile on-airport road system. Last fall, crews, led by the joint venture of Turner and FlatironDragados completed the first 19 gates and 940,000 sq ft of the new terminal, with the total 1.2 million sq ft and 30 gates slated to open in 2028. “The primary thread has been the delivery method,” says Steve McCabe, vice president with AECOM, which provides program management services for SAN. “I’ve been here since 2006; we did the...