Sacramento International Airport will shut the road serving two of Terminal B's four arrivals doors through October 1, as construction advances on a roughly $140 million pedestrian walkway that will replace the terminal's automated people mover.

The arrivals-side closure affects Doors 1 and 2 between 1 a.m. and 9 a.m. daily. Drivers will be detoured to Doors 3 and 4 on the opposite side of the terminal, the airport said in a news release. A second phase follows from October 15 to October 28, when the Terminal B departures road closes nightly from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m., with posted detour signage.

The disruption stems from construction of the approximately quarter-mile walkway between the check-in area and Terminal B's gates. The facility will feature moving sidewalks, escalators and a central hub designed so the airport can eventually add a third concourse at that location.

The Sacramento County Department of Airports has set a goal of opening the walkway by the end of the year, an airport spokesperson said in June.

The walkway forms one component of SMForward, a four-year capital program the airport values at an estimated $1.38 billion. The program also includes a new 5,537-space parking garage scheduled to open in November and the relocation of rental car facilities, with that construction set to begin in 2027.

For passengers, the near-term effect is limited to ground traffic. The arrivals closure concentrates pickup activity at Doors 3 and 4 during the overnight and morning window, while the October departures closures fall outside most peak departure banks. Airlines operating from Terminal B — the facility's larger of two terminals — face no announced impact on curbside check-in beyond the nightly detours.

The walkway replacement marks a structural shift in how the airport moves passengers airside. The existing automated people mover, one of the defining features of the airport since Terminal B opened, will give way to a conventional walking connection with mechanized assistance. That design choice reduces reliance on fixed-rail transit technology and its maintenance burden, while the central hub layout preserves expansion capacity for a future third concourse if passenger growth justifies it.

The sequencing is deliberate: the garage opens in November, the walkway is targeted for year-end, and rental car relocation construction begins in 2027. Together the projects address the three main friction points at a mid-sized California airport — parking supply, airside circulation and landside rental car traffic — under a single funding envelope.

Whether the walkway meets the end-of-year target will become clear as the October closures conclude. If the schedule holds, passengers arriving for the holiday travel period will use the new connection for the first time.