Construction crews will be ripping up and replacing J-Church rails at Church and 18th streets starting Friday, March 19 at 7 p.m. and continuing around the clock until Monday morning, according to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.
Work will also be done to a section of the J-line at San Jose Avenue and 30th Street and will continue over two remaining weekends that will be determined based on weather conditions, the agency said.
During the March 19 weekend only, Church Street will be closed to traffic in both directions between 17th and Hancock streets. And 18th Street will be closed to traffic in both directions between Church and Dolores streets.
However, during all three construction weekends, San Jose Avenue will be closed to southbound traffic between Day and Dolores streets. One lane of northbound traffic along San Jose Avenue will remain open during construction.
And 30th Street between San Jose Avenue and Dolores Streets will be closed in both directions during construction.
Local access to businesses and residences will be provided during the construction, but the San Francisco Police Department advises motorists to use alternate routes away from the closures during the weekend construction.
During the construction weekends, the J-Church will continue down the subway underneath Market Streets past Van Ness Street Station to Church Street Station instead of exiting at Duboce Street. Bus shuttles starting at Church and Market streets will provide service along a detoured J-Church line to Balboa Park.
The $2 million construction project for the upcoming weekends is part of the $18 million rail improvement project that is allocated between three Muni light-rail lines: the J-Church, N-Judah and L-Taraval. The two other rail lines have already undergone rail renovation this year.
Each fiscal year, the SFMTA allocates between $7.5 and $10 million to maintain and repair Muni’s 70 miles of track that is over 30 years old, the agency said.
“San Francisco’s infrastructure is at the core of our quality of life,” said SFMTA Executive Director and CEO Nathaniel P. Ford Sr. in a March 16 press release. “The SFMTA will continue to aggressively prioritize keeping Muni in a state of good repair in order to provide safe and reliable service to our customers.”
Other changes during the construction include: street repaving and re-striping, sidewalk improvements and upgrading water lines, according to the SFMTA.
Representatives from the SFMTA outreach staff will be on hand Friday from 7:30 p.m. until 10:30 p.m. at Church Street Station to assist and inform riders of the change. The MTA staff will also be at the station on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m.
Muni Bus Shuttle Schedule:
8 p.m., Friday – 1 a.m., Saturday
6 a.m., Saturday – 1 a.m., Sunday
8 a.m., Sunday – 1 a.m., Monday
Additional Bus Routes Affected:
24-Divisadero
24-Owl
33-Stanyan
36-Teresita
All information compiled from the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.