BLUF: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) awarded Walsh Federal LLC a $148,798,000 design-build contract on September 19, 2026 to replace the SMF air traffic control tower.

The contract, signed under award number 697DCK26C00269, was issued by the FAA, an agency of the Department of Transportation (DOT). Federal spending records describe the work as "DB SMF ATCT REPLACEMENT" — a design-build replacement of the air traffic control tower carrying the FAA facility identifier SMF, which matches Sacramento International Airport. Period of performance runs from September 19, 2026 through February 5, 2030, with a potential completion date of March 5, 2030.

Why it matters: The award lands inside NAICS code 236220 (Commercial and Institutional Building Construction), and USAspending.gov records show it was fully obligated at signing rather than incrementally funded — the full $148.8 million base-and-options value was committed up front. Federal spending data also shows the procurement drew only one offer despite being run as a full-and-open, two-step competition, a pattern worth watching on other FAA tower-replacement solicitations moving through the same program.

By the numbers:

• Award value: $148,798,000 (fully obligated at signing)
• Award ID: 697DCK26C00269
• Awarding office: FAA, Department of Transportation
• NAICS code: 236220 — Commercial and Institutional Building Construction
• Period of performance: September 19, 2026 – February 5, 2030
• Competition: Full and open, two-step procedures; one offer received
• Set-aside: None

The FAA's air traffic control tower replacement effort, funded in part through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act), has been modernizing towers at a set of airports nationwide, including Sacramento International, according to the airport authority's own public announcements. Sacramento International's current tower has been cited by airport officials as dating to 1967. The contract's performance window, closing in the first quarter of 2030, aligns with the timeline airport officials have publicly given for the new tower becoming operational.

Walsh Federal LLC has separately been awarded other federal construction contracts in 2025 and 2026, including work for U.S. Marine Corps facilities, per public award records — establishing a track record in large federal design-build construction ahead of this award.

Source: USAspending.gov