Turner and FlatironDragados celebrated the opening of the new Terminal 1 at San Diego International Airport, according to a Tuesday news release.
The joint venture delivered the first phase of the $3 billion progressive design-build job, which originally broke ground in 2021. The phase adds a new terminal building with 19 gates, along with approximately five miles of new roadways, including elevated departures and arrivals lanes, and a 5,200-space parking plaza.
Airport leaders have pitched the overall project as essential to handling rising passenger demand. A second phase of the San Diego project, slated to start next month, will add another 11 gates to Terminal 1, bringing the total to 30 by early 2028, according to the release.
Travelers will find new amenities such as an outdoor dining area with a downtown city skyline view, 15 concessionaires, commissioned artwork and more enhancements throughout the airport, according to the release. The Turner-FlatironDragados JV team also installed the terminal’s luminous wave wall, which will allow muted light throughout the ticketing and concourse levels.
But the project has not been without controversy.
In 2023, Turner briefly shut the site down after a series of hate-motivated incidents prompted anti-bias training for more than 1,200 workers. Despite the pause, the job remained on schedule, topping out in December of that year.
With this opening, San Diego joins a slew of other U.S. airports delivering billion-dollar terminals.
For example, Tampa International Airport revealed renderings in June for the $1.5 billion Airside D, a new terminal with 16 gates. Greeley, Colorado-based Hensel Phelps, Kansas City, Missouri-based HNTB and San Francisco-based Gensler are leading the project.
In Chicago, a joint venture of AECOM Hunt Clayco Bowa officially started construction in August on O’Hare International Airport’s $1.3 billion Terminal D project.
