BART approves contract to build 19 canopies along Market Street

New, shiny, glass canopies are heading to several jointly shared BART and Muni street-level entrances along Market Street.

BART’s Board of Directors Thursday approved a base contract of $64.5 million awarded to Shimmick Construction Inc. to construct 19 canopies over the next seven years. The contract includes an option for three additional canopies if funding is identified, which would increase the contract to $71 million.

BART officials Tuesday said that canopies will ensure escalators are  protected from weather elements and debris swept in by wind.

The transit agency is in the process of replacing all of its escalators along Market Street as part of BART’s Market Street Escalators Renovation Project. The canopy project complements the ongoing escalator work, BART board Director Bevan Dufty said Tuesday.

The new canopies will include artwork on the ceilings, real-time train arrival times, LED lighting and security cameras.

Two canopies have already been constructed at Market and Ellis streets and at Market and Seventh streets.

BART has also experimented with a canopy at its 19th Street Oakland station and said the structure has shown promising results by reducing downtime for repairs by 30 percent.

Besides protecting the escalators from the elements, Dufty said the new canopies will provide additional safety for frontline staff who arrive at work around 4:30 a.m. to ready stations for service.

A retractable gate at the top of each canopy is designed to prevent people from entering the station or sleeping on escalators and in stairwells outside of service hours. Currently, BART only has a gate at concourse entrances.

BART officials said crews will minimize passenger access impact by working only on one entrance at a time at each station.

San Francisco and BART will split project costs with funding come from the voter-approved Measure RR, San Francisco Proposition A transportation bond and additional state funds.

BART expects to start construction this spring and finish the canopy project by 2026.

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.