A 12-block section of San Francisco’s Van Ness Avenue will close in the Van Ness\Civic Center neighborhood for 72 hours starting tonight to accommodate construction work on a new hospital.
The street will close between Ellis and Pine streets for 72 hours from tonight at midnight through 11:59 p.m. Sunday night, according to contractor HerreroBOLDT.
There will also be a one-block closure between Geary Boulevard and Post Street.
During this time, HerreroBOLDT will be excavating a 124-foot pedestrian tunnel to connect Sutter Health’s CPMC Van Ness and Geary Campus to the planned 274-bed hospital and medical offices across the street. They’ll also install a temporary structural roof over the tunnel before returning Van Ness to driveable condition, according to the contractor.
All east-west streets crossing Van Ness will remain open to through traffic in an effort to minimize the project’s impact. Detours are in place, and intersections will be staffed with traffic officers and flaggers at intersections, according to a statement from the contractor.
To accommodate additional traffic, parking restrictions will be in effect on Franklin and Gough streets throughout the detour zone.
Van Ness will remain open to San Francisco Municipal Railway service, Golden Gate Transit, police and fire personnel as well as pedestrians on one side of the roadway, according to the contractor.
Another weekend closure has been scheduled from Friday, Sept. 5 to Sunday, Sept. 7. This construction schedule was chosen over alternatives that could have required up to 20 months of night-time work.
Live traffic updates will be available on 511.org as well as on Twitter from @HerreroBOLDT, @CaltransD4, @sfmta_muni. Project details and a live Twitter feed will be available at www.cpmc2020.org.
Dave Brooksher, Bay City News
