Construction on San Francisco’s Central Subway project is shutting down part of a street near Union Square for the next five years, starting today.
Stockton Street will be closed between Ellis and Geary streets to make way 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.
Crews were setting up the closure this morning, and it was expected to be in effect by this afternoon, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency spokesman Paul Rose said.
The closure will last until 2017, when construction on the Union Square portion of the project is expected to be completed, 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.
Over the weekend, to increase access to Union Square in anticipation of the Stockton Street closure, the SFMTA converted nearby Grant Avenue into a two-way street between Geary and Sutter streets.
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.
DanMcMenamin1050a07/30/12
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