Good progress on Doyle Drive — traffic is light

The demolition of Doyle Drive, the critical link between the Golden Gate Bridge and central San Francisco, moved noisily but smoothly toward its halfway point late Saturday, with transportation officials sticking to a plan to open a replacement road for commuters by 5 a.m. Monday.

The city escaped the most nightmarish traffic scenarios Saturday, as many drivers — despite the allure of a warm weekend day in a city offering a baseball game, a beer fest and other events — heeded warnings to steer clear of the area.

At the same time, hundreds of joggers, dog-

walkers and stroller-pushers lined the construction zone in the Presidio to take in an unusual show. They gasped and cheered as 40 giant excavators, their hydraulic arms fitted with hammers and crab-like claws, knocked down Doyle Drive, the seismically fragile road that opened along with the bridge in 1937.

Demolition of the concrete structure, which began at 8 p.m. Friday, will clear the way for construction of the Presidio Parkway, which is expected to open in late 2015 and feature two short tunnels topped by recreation areas. The replacement project will cost an estimated $1.1 billion.

In the meantime, a temporary, surface-level roadway will take drivers behind the Sports Basement building and connect to one of the new tunnels — starting early Monday, state transportation officials hope.

‘We’re on schedule’

“Progress is good. We’re on schedule,” said Dave Pang, the Caltrans construction manager who has run the Doyle Drive replacement project for the past two years. “Traffic is light.”

Workers on 12-hour shifts toiled at six construction sites in an area that encompasses roughly 10 football fields. Crews are working around the clock.

At overlooks in the Presidio, and along Mason Street to the north, gawkers marveled at the excavators — a couple of which were used at the World Trade Center site after the terrorist attacks of September 2001.

The machines knocked down one 30-foot concrete span at a time, eliciting applause from the crowd each time. Unlike the demolitions of stadiums and office buildings, which go down in a blast of dynamite, this was a sustained pummeling. And after each span fell, the excavators continued to chip away at the rubble, looking like giant birds devouring prey.

‘Scary and awesome’

“It’s kind of scary and awesome,” said a 9-year-old girl, Elliot Singer, who lives with her family in the Presidio. “We wanted to see this. We came last night, too.”

Pang said, “These are the biggest machines I’ve seen in 20 years at Caltrans.”

He said demolition dust had not been a problem, with workers using hoses and eight mist machines that attach to fire hydrants to bring down airborne particles. There have been few noise complaints from the small number of Presidio residents, he said. More complaints were coming in about news media helicopters.

With Doyle Drive shut down, traffic was heavier than usual on surface streets through the Presidio, such as Lincoln Boulevard on the south side of the demolition zone and Mason Street to the north.

The Golden Gate Bridge remained open and is accessible via Highway 1 on San Francisco’s west side. But traffic was light: Between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday, Caltrans said, half as many vehicles traveled south across the bridge as on a typical Saturday.

Caltrans is urging people to use alternate transit such as the Golden Gate Ferry, which is doubling its service this weekend, running boats hourly.

Boat to the movies

That advice reached Lola Gomes, a Sausalito resident who took a ferry to downtown San Francisco in the early afternoon with her goddaughter, 7-year-old Viviana Linne. They planned to see the movie “Mirror Mirror” at the Metreon, then return to Sausalito on another ferry.

“I didn’t want to even deal with it,” Gomes said of potential traffic tie-ups near Doyle Drive.

“Four thumbs-up,” Viviana said of the ferry ride, raising her thumbs as well as her big toes.

Officials advised those who must drive to and from the North Bay to use the Richmond-san Rafael and Bay bridges. They said those who insist on crossing the Golden Gate Bridge should use Geary Boulevard or California Street and Highway 1 through San Francisco.

Traffic on the RichmondSan Rafael and Bay bridges was fairly typical for a Saturday, the California Highway Patrol said.

‘Don’t be misled’

Caltrans asked drivers to remain faithful throughout the weekend, noting that Sunday is Opening Day on the Bay, the traditional start of the sailing season. The Giants play another game at AT&T Park at 1:05 p.m.

“Don’t be misled by the fact that traffic is light,” said Raoul Maltez, a Caltrans traffic manager. “Please stay away or use public transportation.”

Golden Gate Transit rearranged its service to steer around the closure. Bus routes 70 and 80 end at the bridge toll plaza, where passengers can catch shuttles to the Transbay Terminal. Route 101 from Santa Rosa heads from San Rafael across the Richmond-san Rafael Bridge, then across the Bay Bridge to the Transbay Terminal and other downtown locations.

Detailed information on the Golden Gate Ferry and bus service can be viewed at www.goldengate.org or 511.org.