April is proving to be a massive month for roadwork in San Francisco. Following the closure of a large section of Interstate 80, another major city thoroughfare is about to enter three straight weekends of shutdowns for repaving.
Starting at 7 a.m. on Friday, April 24, 2 miles of northbound lanes on 19th Avenue — between Sloat Boulevard and Lincoln Way — will close. One lane will remain open to accommodate Muni and other vehicles. The work is scheduled to last through 5 a.m. on Monday, April 27, before resuming on Friday, May 8, during the same hours for work for the two southbound lanes of the same stretch.
The work during the third weekend will take place on the southernmost part of 19th Avenue, between Sloat Boulevard and Holloway Avenue by San Francisco State University. Caltrans crews will be repaving both the southbound and northbound lanes — work on this portion is expected to last longer, running from 7 a.m. on Friday, May 22, until 10 a.m. on Monday, May 25.
As inconvenient the arrangement may be for many commuters, residents and students, it could have been much worse.
“We worked with Caltrans to bring their construction schedule down to 10 days from 40 days,” said Michael Roccaforte, a spokesperson for San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, in a statement shared with SFGATE. “… We’re also deploying SFMTA Parking Control Officers to conduct traffic control at key locations to ensure pedestrian safety and to help manage the uptick in traffic volume to help vehicles navigate safely through busy intersections.”
Caltrans has plans in place to minimize disruption for nearby residents.
“For the first two weekends, loud noise is not scheduled to happen after 10 p.m., allowing residents on 19th Avenue to sleep,” said Matt O’Donnell, a spokesperson for Caltrans, in a statement shared with SFGATE. “Work will still continue after that time, but crews will be able to work on other quieter construction activities like striping.”
Regardless, some locals will still be impacted by limited driveway access if crews are working in front of their home.
Caltrans expects the project to stay on track, with inclement weather being the only potential hurdle. “In case of rain for any of the three weekend closures, the weekend of June 5-7 would serve as a contingency weekend,” O’Donnell said.