Years Of Street Closures Begin Near SF Union Square Construction
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) - Most would agree that navigating San Francisco's busy Union Square has always been a challenge - but it is about to get much worse, with some major work beginning Monday morning.
Construction related to the Central Subway project is going to force the closure of two blocks of Stockton Street between Ellis and Geary and the re-striping of one block of Grant Street above Market Street to accommodate two way traffic.
Stockton Street could be closed for up to five years for work on the $1.6 billion project, which will create a new branch of Muni's T-Third line to connect the city's South of Market neighborhood to Chinatown.
KCBS' Jeffrey Schaub Reports:
The closure will last until 2017, when construction on the Union Square portion of the project is expected to be completed, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency spokesman Paul Rose said.
Sidewalks will remain open on Stockton Street during the closure, and the road will reopen each year between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day during a holiday moratorium on construction in the area.
The subway, which will include stops at Moscone Center, Union Square and Chinatown, is expected to open to the public in 2019.
The SFMTA also anticipates closing the Ellis Street entrance to the Powell Street Muni Metro/BART station next month because of the construction.
Updates about Central Subway construction and its impacts on traffic are available online at www.centralsubwayblog.com.
(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
