Central Subway work to tangle traffic, transit

A weeklong of street closures surrounding Fourth and King streets and other construction projects in San Francisco will make it difficult to navigate through The City either by driving or by taking Muni.

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency warns drivers and Muni riders to expect delays while it works on the second phase of adding extensions and switch points at Fourth and King streets for the Central Subway project beginning at 10 p.m. on Friday through the evening of Nov. 14.

The work will connect the existing T-Third line to the Central Subway, the transit agency said. The SFMTA worked on the first phase of project over the Labor Day Weekend.

During the week of construction, the T-Third line will operate by buses between Sunnyvale and Embarcadero stations. The SFMTA said boarding will be on the curbside along the route. The stop near Fourth and King streets will located at Third and Berry streets.

The N-Judah will have a temporary platform on King Street between Third and Fourth streets. The K-Ingleside will not continue inbound to become the T-Third line after the Embarcadero station. Muni riders who need to continue using the T-Third need to catch the bus shuttle above ground.

Both the 81X-Caltrain and 82X-Levi Plaza buses will make stops at Lusk and Third streets.

Service on the F-Market/Wharves line heading to Fisherman’s Wharf will start 45 minutes later.

There will be no E-Embarcadero service running during the weekends of Nov. 7-8 and Nov. 14-15.

N-Owl service will have a temporary stop at Townsend between Fourth and Fifth streets and the outbound stop at King and Second streets will move to the far side on Second Street. The 91-Owl will also have a temporary stop at Third and Berry streets.

Street closures include eastbound King Street between Third and Fifth streets, southbound Fourth Street between Berry and King streets, northbound Fourth Street between Channel and King streets.

Drivers will still be able to access the 1-280 on and off ramp, but the SFMTA advises the avoid area and to expect heavy traffic delays.

On top of the Central Subway work, the transit agency is continuing the nightly shutdown of the Muni Metro at 9:30 p.m. to continue work on replacing the radio system and blue light emergency phones inside the subway.

N-Judah work inside the Sunset Tunnel to replace rail tracks is also scheduled on the weekends of Nov. 7 and 14.

Work will also resume on the pedestrian tunnel for the new California Pacific Medical Campus on Van Ness Avenue. Traffic will not to able to get through between Ellis and Post streets on Nov. 13 (12 a.m.) to Nov. 15 (11:59 p.m

Visit the SFMTA website to for more details about the upcoming street closures and transit delays.

Jerold Chinn

Jerold serves as a reporter and San Francisco Bureau Chief for SFBay covering transportation and occasionally City Hall and the Mayor's Office in San Francisco. His work on transportation has been recognized by the San Francisco Press Club. Born and raised in San Francisco, he graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in journalism. Jerold previously wrote for the San Francisco Public Press, a nonprofit, noncommercial news organization. When not reporting, you can find Jerold taking Muni to check out new places to eat in the city.