Fremont Street reopening targeted for Oct. 12

Officials with the Salesforce Transit Center are aiming to reopen Fremont Street by Oct. 12 but a date to reopen the actual transit center remains up in the air.

Fremont Street between Mission and Howard streets sits below the affected area of the transit center where two construction workers found two cracked beams last Tuesday while installing ceiling tiles. Fremont Street and the transit center has since remained closed.

When Fremont Street reopens, at least one lane of traffic will remain closed, the center lane, in which the shoring system is being erected.

Over the weekend, crews began preparing to install the shoring system and that will alleviate the weight of the two cracked beams. The shoring system is a temporary fix until crews determine the cause of the cracked beams.

Right now, six hydraulic jacks are supporting the affected portion of the transit center. The jacks will be replaced by two steel towers that will take the entire load off the affected beams, said Dennis Turchon, senior construction manager of the transit center:

“These jacks were brought in to just ensure that the bus deck was secure until we can get the actual shoring system that we’re in the process of designing right now and getting a peer review for.”

It will take at least a week to put the shoring system in place, said Turchon.

The two steel towers that will temporarily hold the transit center will come from the Stockton-based Herrick Corp., which fabricated the two beams are that cracked.

Turchon said there will be an independent peer review of the shoring system before installation.

Once the weight of the two cracked beams is shifted over to the two steel towers, engineers can begin testing of the cracked beams and figure out a permanent fix, said Turchon.

Testing of the cracked beams and devising a permanent fix could take another couple of weeks.

Officials with the Transbay Joint Powers Authority, who oversaw the constriction of the transit center and manages the center, will provide another update at a meeting at City Hall Tuesday morning.

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.