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Release date: July 25, 2012

*** Press Release ***

Stockton Street Detour Map (.pdf)

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), which oversees transportation in the city, including the Municipal Railway (Muni), today announced that traffic on Stockton Street and Grant Avenue around Union Square will be modified to accommodate construction of the Central Subway tunnel and Union Square/Market Street Station.

Beginning Monday, July 30, Stockton Street between Ellis and Geary streets will be closed to all vehicles except emergency vehicles. To facilitate local access to Union Square, on Saturday, July 28, Grant Avenue between Geary and Sutter streets will be converted into a two-way street.

The partial closure of Stockton Street will remain in effect throughout the duration of Central Subway construction except during the annual holiday construction moratorium. From Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day, no Central Subway construction will occur around Union Square, and Stockton Street will be reopened to traffic. Grant Avenue between Geary and Sutter streets will remain a two-way street during the holiday moratorium.

Tunnel preparatory construction, including ground-stabilization work, called jet grouting, and installation of below-ground walls, called headwalls, will begin on and around Stockton Street after the traffic modifications go into effect. Construction of the Union Square/Market Street Station is slated to begin early next year.

Transit Impacts

  • The 38/38L Geary Muni routes may experience delays around Union Square.
  • The 30 Stockton, 45 Union/Stockton, 8X/8AX/8BX Bayshore Express and 91 Owl began re-routing this year around major construction sites in Union Square and SoMa. These re-routes will continue throughout the duration of Central Subway construction.
  • It is anticipated that the Ellis Street entrance to the Powell Street Muni Metro/BART Station will be closed in August. More information about this closure will be made available soon.

Traffic Impacts

  • Stockton Street between Ellis and Geary streets will be closed to all traffic except emergency vehicles.
  • Grant Avenue between Geary and Sutter streets will be converted into a two-way street.
  • Ellis Street between Stockton Street and the Ellis Garage will be closed to westbound traffic. One lane will remain open to eastbound traffic. Vehicles exiting the garage will be able to turn left or right onto Ellis Street.
  • Southbound Stockton Street traffic traveling toward SoMa will be directed to the following suggested detour: east onto Post Street, south onto Montgomery Street, cross Market Street and continue onto New Montgomery Street.
  • To access westbound I-80, continue on New Montgomery Street to Howard Street, turn west onto Howard Street, turn south onto Hawthorne Street and turn west onto Harrison Street.
  • Southbound Stockton Street traffic traveling to Union Square will be directed as follows: turn east onto Post Street, turn south onto Grant Avenue and turn west onto Geary Street.
  • Stockton Street will remain open to cross traffic at O’Farrell and Geary streets, but temporary lane closures near the intersections may be required.
  • Variable message signs and detour signs will be in place.
  • Traffic control officers and flaggers will be on site to direct traffic as appropriate.

Pedestrian Impacts

  • Sidewalks on Stockton Street between Ellis and Geary streets will remain open, but they may be narrowed to facilitate construction.
  • Temporary closures of the crosswalk that crosses Stockton Street on the south side of Geary Street may be required.

About the Central Subway Project

The Central Subway Project will extend the T Third Line from the 4th Street Caltrain Station to Chinatown, providing a direct, rapid transit link from the Bayshore and Mission Bay areas to SoMa and downtown. Four new stations will be built along the 1.7-mile Central Subway Project alignment – a street-level station at 4th and Brannan streets and three subway stations: Yerba Buena/Moscone Station, Union Square/Market Street Station and Chinatown Station.

Travel times through this busy corridor will be significantly reduced by the Central Subway. During peak hours, current travel between Stockton and Washington streets and 4th and King streets takes more than 20 minutes on Muni bus routes. On the Central Subway, the same trip will take less than eight minutes.

The Central Subway Project is the second phase of the SFMTA’s Third Street Light Rail Transit Project. The first segment of the T Third Line opened in April 2007, restoring light rail service to a high transit-ridership area of San Francisco for the first time in 50 years.

The $1.6 billion project will be funded using a variety of federal, state and local sources, including $942.2 million from the federal New Starts program. Of the total New Starts investment, $92.4 million has already been awarded to the Central Subway Project in anticipation of a Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) later this year.

The Central Subway is expected to open to the public in 2019. For more information, visit us online at www.centralsubwaysf.com.

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