West Portal, Forest Hill early weekend closures begin Friday

Construction crews begin work this weekend in preparation for major work inside the the 2.7-mile-long Twin Peaks Tunnel.

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency will close West Portal and Forest Hill stations this Friday and Saturday and continue the closures for up to 14 weekends through June 17 so construction crews can prepare material and supplies before a two-month closure of the tunnel in the summer.

On Friday nights, the stations will close at 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. on Saturday nights. The stations will reopen at the beginning of Saturday and Sunday morning service, according to the SFMTA.

The transit agency said the K-Ingleside, L-Taraval and M-Ocean View will run on buses from Embarcadero Station to the end of each line’s terminal. The buses will run every 20 minutes until OWL service begins.

Muni passengers can wait for the buses at the half-moon shaped transit poles that reads “Muni Metro Shuttle.”

Castro Station will remain open for trains. Outbound trains will turn around and head back inbound at the station.

The T-Third and S-Shuttle trains will only operate at Castro and Church Stations, according to the SFMTA.

The upcoming tunnel closures are part of a $52 million project to make upgrades to the Twin Peaks Tunnel, which turned 100 years old last month.

Construction crews over the summer will replace the rail tracks, drainage systems, make seismic upgrades to the abandoned Eureka Valley Station, and improve the structural support between West Portal and Forest Hill stations.

The project is finally getting started after some delay because the transit agency had to find a new contractor for the project after the transit agency was not able to negotiate a new project timeline with the previous contractor.

In January, the SFMTA Board of Directors terminated the contract with NTK Construction, Inc. and approved a new contract with Shimmick/Con-Quest Joint Venture in February.