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Wednesday, May 23, 2012
A look inside Sacramento International's Terminal B
by Brandon Darnell, published on November 12, 2010 at 9:39 PM
Storyline: International Sacramento
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Sacramento International Airport’s expansion – dubbed “The Big Build” – is on-track to be completed by the end of next year, providing 19 new gates and an all-new, two-building terminal.
“We started this effort in May of 2000,” said G. Hardy Acree, director of the Sacramento County Airport System. “We started construction in June of 2008 and are 30 months into a 42-month construction cycle.”
The new terminal, known as Terminal B, will be composed of two buildings connected by an above-ground people-moving train system.
The “land-side” portion of the terminal will front a two-level roadway, with one level for arrivals and the other for departures. That section will also include ticket sales, retail shops and food vendors.
The Sacramento Press took part in a tour of the “air-side” portion of the new terminal, which will contain passport control and customs, 19 gates connected by a concourse and the terminal’s security checkpoint.
Originally included in the plans were a hotel and additional parking structure, but Acree said the economy forced those to be nixed for now.
The projected cost of the project is $1.08 billion, but Acree said he believes the final amount will be closer to $1.03 billion.
Bond sales were recently completed, and Acree said the financing is all assembled.
“A lot of the uncertainty and the risk associated with this program has been run out,” he said.
The area in the above photo is the site of the future customs and passport control point. The floor – like most of the terminal’s floorspace – is done in eco-friendly terrazzo in blue and green to represent the importance of agriculture and water to Sacramento, according to Bryan Leavitt, air-side design manager for Corgan Associates, the terminal’s architects.
The air-side portion of Terminal B is oriented on an east/west axis and is currently built to house 19 gates, but is capable of future expansion to 27 gates.
The interior of the Terminal B concourse will have its high-traffic areas paved in terrazzo while the less-trafficked seating areas will be carpeted. Large windows will allow natural light to handle all the lighting for the terminal most of the year, saving on electricity. Special sunshades and window treatments keep the sunlight from heating the terminal, and it is projected to receive a LEED silver certification.
In the hub of the Terminal B concourse is a food court. Leavitt said the space is designed like a shopping mall, and the food court is centrally located just past the security checkpoint.
The above space will house a sit-down restaurant near the food court.
Trains will carry passengers from the land-side portion of the terminal to the point in the photo above, which will house the security checkpoint. Leavitt said the train ride will take 45 seconds.
Trains will arrive at the above spot. If a train breaks down or there is an emergency, passengers can be moved between the terminal buildings on foot between the twin train tracks.
The air-side portion of Terminal B viewed from the train tracks connecting it to the land-side portion.
The photo at the top of the article is the land-side portion of Terminal B as seen from the train tracks connecting it to the air-side portion.
Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.
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The trains are similar to those used at Chicago's O'Hare, but they are just point-to-point instead of circular.
Sources told me that the plans allow for future expansion of the rail lines, possibly to the existing Terminal A, and the plans also have room to connect with light rail, buses or bus rapid transit, should Regional Transit make those available to the airport.
The reason behind them, as for most airports using them, is for the 1st level of security, as only ticketed passengers can board. I've been working out here on the project, and it's been a great experience, and it will become a gem for Sacramento for many years to come.
Anyone with a negative outlook on the new terminal, in my opinion, will soon change their views once they have experienced "the flow" of getting in and out of the airport, either as a traveler or just to pick up/drop off someone who is traveling. The touch screen digital kiosks for visitors will be loaded with all kinds of useful information, and also the self check-in kiosk for those with electronic tickets will cut down on the lines the current terminal is famous for.
But this is a great first look - and I do think it's a first - of the new terminal. FB post-worthy!
The big question is how you fared through all the the x ray scanning and groin checking that I am sure was necessary with this level of access?
Sac Intergalactic Airport TSA staff has to be worried about Al Qaeda infiltrating the airport during construction and hiding in the rafters for a couple years before making their big move... right?
And yes, I can tell the comment just might have a little bit of sarcasm in it, but I thought I'd answer.
By the way: Here's a link to the airport, including the Big Build Project - which has an interesting time-lapse slide show of the building activities over the years: http://www.sacairports.org/int/
And in the sincerest form of flattery, I was at another airport recently that used Jack Gallagher (or a very good impersonator) for the public announcements. I think it was SFO. Other airports want be like SMF, can you believe it!