Skip to content.

Release date: 4/16/10

*** Press Release ***

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), which operates the Municipal Railway (Muni), has announced the continuation of track improvement work on the Muni Metro system after the first successful weekend on March 19 -22. Starting at approximately 7 p.m., Friday, April 16 and continuing around the clock until Monday morning, weekend work on the J Church light rail line will be required at the intersections of Church and 18th streets and San Jose Avenue and 30th Street. The work will continue at San Jose Avenue and 30th Street only over one additional weekend, April 23 - 26.

Throughout the weekend of April 16 - 19, construction will require the use of Muni bus shuttles on the J Church Line from Church Street Station to the Balboa Park BART/Muni Station. Traffic diversions off of Church Street, 18th Street, 30th Street and San Jose Avenue will be required during construction hours. This work follows the successful completion of track improvement work on the N Judah Line in December and the L Taraval in February. Construction over the weekend of April 23 will not impact rail service but will require traffic diversions.

“San Francisco’s infrastructure is at the core of our quality of life,” said SFMTA Executive Director/CEO Nathaniel P. Ford Sr. “The SFMTA will continue to aggressively prioritize keeping Muni in a state of good repair in order to provide safe and reliable service to our customers.”

Worn pavement and rails in these heavily traveled intersections require the replacement of rail and repaving of the intersections to keep the tracks in good operating condition. In addition to replacing and repairing aging Muni tracks and components, the project includes collaboration with other City departments to provide long-overdue enhancements to the surrounding area such as street repaving and re-striping, sidewalk improvements and upgraded water lines.

Muni Service Impacts

  • Over this weekend, beginning April 16, regular J Church light rail service will end at Church Street Station.
  • From there, Muni bus shuttles will substitute for rail service to serve Muni customers to the end of the line at Balboa Park Station.
  • Outbound J Church trains traveling in the subway will not exit at Duboce but instead will continue in the tunnel to Church Station for customers to transfer to bus shuttles on Church Street south of Market.
  • The J trains will then continue to Castro Station.
  • Inbound J shuttles will stop on Church Street just south of Market for transfers to the subway. 
  • Customers can get on and off the J shuttle bus at all regular J Line stops except stops near the construction sites as well as Randall Street and Glen Park Station.
  • Alternate J shuttle service for Randall Street and Glen Park customers can be accessed on 30th Street (via 36 Teresita) and at San Jose and Santa Rosa avenues.
  • BART service to Glen Park Station will not be affected.

Traffic Impacts

  • Over the weekend of April 16, Church Street will be closed to through traffic in both directions between 17th Street and Hancock Street.
  • 18th Street will be closed to through traffic in both directions between Church and Dolores streets.
  • During both construction weekends, San Jose Avenue will be closed to through traffic in the southbound direction between Day Street and Dolores Street.
  • One lane of northbound San Jose Avenue will remain open; the rest will be closed during construction.
  • During construction hours, 30th Street between San Jose Avenue and Dolores Street will be closed to through traffic in both directions. 
  • Local access to businesses and residences will be provided for all closures.  Detour signs will guide drivers to alternate routes.  Police officers will detour traffic onto parallel streets.
  • Some street parking will not be available in or near the construction sites.
  • Slow traffic is expected in the area. Motorists are advised to use alternate routes when possible.

Traffic Detour/Construction Schedule (weather permitting):

Church and 18th streets and San Jose Avenue and 30th Street

  • 7 p.m., Friday, April 16 – 5 a.m., Monday, April 19

Muni Bus Shuttle Schedule:

  • 8 p.m., Friday – 1 a.m., Saturday
  • 6 a.m., Saturday – 1 a.m., Sunday
  • 8 a.m., Sunday – 1 a.m., Monday

Additional Muni routes affected:

  • 24 Divisadero
  • 24 Owl
  • 33 Stanyan
  • 36 Teresita

SFMTA community outreach staff will be on hand Friday, April 16 from 7 to 10:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Church Station to assist Muni customers. They have also made presentations to community groups and walked through the communities surrounding the intersections to alert neighbors and local merchants to the upcoming construction. In addition, brochures, signs in Muni vehicles and 8,000 direct mail notifications have been distributed to the community and Muni customers.

The work for these two intersections will cost $2 million and is part of a larger, $18 million rail improvement project that covers three Muni lines: the J Church, the N Judah and the L Taraval.  Later this year the intersection of Church and 30th streets on the J Line will also receive new rails, repaired street pavement and other transportation improvements.  These improvements go beyond the tracks to include new overhead wire poles, new curb ramps and new Muni train signal priority devices.

Most of Muni’s 70 miles of track is more than 30 years old. A robust schedule of key rehabilitation and replacement projects is necessary to ensure safe, reliable Muni service for generations to come. Each fiscal year, the SFMTA allocates between $7.5 and $10 million for its Rail Program to maintain and improve the infrastructure of the Muni system.

For information on substitute Muni bus shuttle service and traffic detours, please visit www.sfmta.com/rail or call 311.

telephone311 Free language assistance / 免費語言協助 / Ayuda gratuita con el idioma / Бесплатная помощь переводчиков / Trợ giúp Thông dịch Miễn phí / Assistance linguistique gratuite / 無料の言語支援 / 무료 언어 지원 / Libreng tulong para sa wikang Tagalog / คว“มช่วยเหลือท“งภ“ษ“โดยไม่เส’ยค่าใช้จ่าย

 

©2000-2013 San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. All rights reserved.