It's time once again for some runway repaving at SFO, and that may mean some unexpected delays for the next six months, with the airport being short one of its four runways.
We first learned about this closure back in December, and now it is beginning. Runway 1R (1 Right) is closed as of Monday, March 30, for a repaving and restriping project that will take six months to complete. It is expected to reopen on October 2, 2026.
As SFO Public Information Officer Doug Yakel explains in a release, this means that Runways 28L and 28R (28 Left and 28 Right) will be used for all takeoffs and landings during the duration. And because this is the most typical configuration on most days at SFO, due to prevailing wind conditions, the closure of 1R is not expected to disrupt too much traffic.
The airport expects that only around 10% of flights will experience delays during this period, and those delays should be 30 minutes or less. Most of these delays are likely to occur during the 9 am to 9 pm peak period.
The airport further warns that "some communities will experience a temporary increase in departing air traffic overhead" due to all takeoffs taking place on 28L and 28R.
SFO has eight total departure and arrival runways on two axes, four of each, numbered by the end at which the plane begins its takeoff or landing. Runway 28R, for instance, is called 10L at the other end, if the plane were landing in the opposite direction.
As the airport explains here of its flight patterns, winds at SFO blow from the west or north about 95% to 98% of the time. "Northerly and westerly winds at SFO mean that aircraft have to depart and arrive facing into the wind towards the north and west," airport officials say.
This means that the usual runways for takeoffs are 1L and 1R, and the usual runways for most landings are 28L and 28R.
While 1R is being repaved, 1L will also remain closed and used as a taxiway to reduce congestion, Yakel says.
The biggest issues are likely to arise on the rare days when the wind patterns shift. Southeasterly winds mean that planes need to use the big east-west runways, 28L&R, for takeoffs — starting on the other end, 10L and 10R, on the diagram. And the other ends of 1L and 1R, called 19R and 19L are used for landings during these times.
The airport has managed to get through these repaving projects without too many major hiccups in recent years, though the closure of 28L in the first half of 2024 did cause noticeable delays. The shortest runway, 1L/19R, was repaved in 2023.
The repaving and restriping of Runway 1R will also include related taxiway improvements, and new lighting. The project, which is being done by Granite Construction Company, is budgeted to cost $180 million, with $92.1 million being paid for by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Previously: SFO Closing One of Its Runways for Six Months in 2026 as Part of $180 Million Revamp
Top image: Photo by Russss/Wikimedia
