Twin Peaks Tunnel service resumes Saturday

Muni Metro service is set to return inside the Twin Peaks Tunnel on Saturday after two months of repairs inside the 100-year old tunnel, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency tweeted Thursday night.

Inside the tunnel, construction crews from Shimmick Construction and Con-Quest Contractors worked on replacing the rail, drainage system and making seismic upgrades and structural repairs.

HeadsUp: #TwinPeaksTunnel two month closure has ended. Subway testing phase is now underway btwn WP & Castro. Full #subwaysvc will resume this Saturday, 8/25. We understand the impact this had on your commute & we thank you for your patience.

— SFMTA (@SFMTA_Muni) August 23, 2018

Crews also installed crossover tracks to provide more flexibility in switching back trains in case of a major delay or emergency.

The project required the closure of the 2.2-mile long tunnel, during which Muni riders relied on shuttle buses to get to and from Castro or Church stations. More than 80,000 Muni passengers pass through the tunnel aboard the K-Ingleside, L-Taraval and M-Ocean View.

The NX-Judah express service was also out of service during the closure, but transit officials said they had placed more trains on the regular N-Judah. The NX service resumes on Monday.

The $51 million project was not without controversy, as Muni bus operators were pulled to operate the shuttles affecting other bus service citywide. The City has a mandated goal for the SFMTA to deliver 98.5 percent of scheduled service hours.

In June, the SFMTA was at 93.3 percent and the number dipped in July to 91.4 percent, according to the Controller’s Office, which tracks transportation measures using scorecards that are viewable to the public.

Patrick Ricketts, 51, a signal technician for Shimmick Construction, was killed when a temporary steel beam fell on him.

The death prompted a look into the contractor’s safety record, which found a number of “serious” and “willful” violations cited by the Cal/OSHA and disclosed to the SFMTA during the bidding process.

One of the violations cited the death of a forklift worker in Moorpark, Calif.

Mayor London Breed sent a blistering letter to the SFMTA Director of Transportation Ed Reiskin on Monday outlining her concerns over the last few months with Muni service and the death of Ricketts.

Reiskin responded back to Breed to his own letter and outlined changes being made at the transit agency, including additional safety background checks on potential contractors for projects.

On Tuesday, Reiskin said there are two additional planned late-night weekend closures to complete electrical work inside the tunnel, but did not give specific dates.

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.