San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Twin Peaks Tunnel set for closure
Overhaul to shut crucial commuter route 2 months
After 100 years of carrying commuter-filled streetcars and light-rail trains, Muni’s Twin Peaks Tunnel is getting a much-needed makeover, and the heavy work starts Monday.
But it will require a twomonth shutdown of the tunnel. And that means most regular riders who take the K, L and M Metro lines to get to and from the Sunset and surrounding neighborhoods will be forced onto buses or BART or into cars.
On Monday, shortly after midnight, the last light-rail Metro trains will roll through the 2.7-mile-long streetcar tunnel until sometime in August, if all goes according to schedule. The Forest Hill and West Portal stations will also be closed during the tunnel shutdown.
Buses will pick up most of the slack, though Muni will also direct passengers to try BART and outbound K-Ingleside trains to get downtown.
Muni officials have tested their shuttle-bus lines with a couple of weekend closures,
and tweaked them to make sure they can handle weekday crowds. But some riders expressed trepidation.
“Two months?” said passenger Janet Smith at West Portal Station Thursday. “Oh my God.”
Muni’s plan to carry 80,000 daily riders around the closed tunnel kicks into service at 5 a.m., Monday, when the Metro lines start rolling.
The agency’s officials acknowledge that passengers may be confused initially. So, they’ve posted signs and banners and are running messages on buses, streetcars and electronic message boards at bus stops and stations. In the lead-up to the tunnel closure, Muni ambassadors have been handing out rider guides.
“We want to make sure everyone is prepared for this shutdown,” said Erica Kato, a Muni spokeswoman. “We want everyone to build in an extra 20 minutes to make sure they’re getting to work or summer school, or running their errands on time.”
It’s all being done so workers can conduct a $41 million overhaul of the interior of the tunnel.
Rails and their supporting structure, which combine to provide a bumpy ride and force Metro trains to run at reduced speeds, will be replaced. The tunnel’s walls, beams and columns in the abandoned Eureka Valley Station on the east end of the tunnel will be strengthened along with part of a ceiling east of the West Portal Station.
Closing the tunnel is necessary, Kato said, because of the extensive nature of the work. When it’s done, it will allow Muni to run trains about 10 mph faster through the tunnel.
“The tunnel is 100 years old, so this is important maintenance,” she said. “It’s really going to help with safety and reliability.”
The work is being done by a joint venture between contractors Shimmick and Con-Quest. Con-Quest is the firm the Municipal Transportation Agency says installed standard, instead of extra-strength, rail on the Central Subway project. The MTA has ordered the company to rip out and replace the lowergrade rail, work that will cost about $3.2 million. Con-Quest blames the MTA.
Spokesman Paul Rose said the agency and Con-Quest agree that high-grade rail will be used on the Twin Peaks Tunnel, and the MTA will conduct inspections to ensure that the proper materials are used.
Metro riders, meanwhile, are bracing for the two-month detour in their commutes.
“It’s going to affect me a lot,” said Sandra Suarez, 39, a Spanish teacher who lives in Park Merced. “And maybe cost me a lot.
“All I have is the M line,” she said. “Maybe I’m going to drive my car or take Uber or Lyft. It’s going to be horrible on weekdays.”
Oscar Delgado, 24, is a server who lives in the Ingleside and works in the Castro. He’s still figuring out his new tunnel-less commute, but he knows one thing: “It’s going to make my commute much longer,” he said. “I’m going to have to leave the house earlier. It’s going to be an inconvenience.”
But Gwendolyn Johnson, 39, a home health care aide, is looking forward to the tunnel’s reopening when the ride will be smoother and faster.
“It’s going to have a good impact,” she said she as pointed at the dark tunnel from where she stood in West Portal Station. “This thing is horrible right now.”