With the first phase of San Francisco’s Presidio Parkway nearing completion following April’s demolition of Doyle Drive, a financial deal was closed to fund a second construction phase and decades of maintenance on the city roadway, the San Francisco County Transportation Authority announced Friday.
A public-private partnership has been established with Golden Link Concessionaire, which will work with the transportation authority and Caltrans during the second phase of construction on the Golden Gate Bridge approach.
The partnership is a 30-year agreement that states that Golden Link will provide investment capital, oversee construction and handle operations and maintenance of the approach.
Caltrans and the authority have been hashing out the agreement with the private firm since January 2011, when the company was chosen in a competitive bidding process.
Following the financial close, San Francisco Supervisor David Campos, who chairs the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, said in a statement Friday, “This is a great day for San Francisco” and listed benefits of the deal, including an expected timely completion of phase two construction.
The major construction efforts are set to begin later this summer and include finishing the Parkway’s three tunnels and an interchange leading into the Presidio. Phase two will also complete landscaping around the approach.
The project is expected to be completed in 2014.
With support from House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, the project received $46 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
A $147 million federal TIFIA, or Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, loan is also pushing the project along, authority officials said.
This is California’s first public-private partnership since state legislation on the issue passed in 2009, according to authority officials.
Sasha Lekach, Bay City News
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