Prepare For Water Main Construction On McAllister, Grove And Fulton

Prepare For Water Main Construction On McAllister, Grove And FultonPhoto: Torbakhopper/Flickr
Nuala Sawyer
Published on July 29, 2015

A few under-the-ground infrastructure changes will be happening in the next few months on several streets in NoPa and the Western Addition. According to SFPUC, water mains are in need of replacement on Grove between Steiner and Fillmore, Fulton between Divisadero and Fillmore, and McAllister between Masonic and Divisadero. 

The new 8-inch water main pipe will replace pipes that "are approaching the end of their useful life," says Roberto Lopez of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) communication team. In addition to replacing the water mains, SFPUC will also be connecting that water main to all properties along that street. 

SFPUC doesn't hide the fact that construction will be disruptive, stating in a public notice that "there will be noise, vibration, dust, parking and traffic impacts in work zone and disruption to normal neighborhood activity." In addition, parking spaces will be temporarily removed to make way for construction vehicles, and short-term water shut-offs will occur (with notifications to local residents beforehand). All work will take place between the hours of 8am and 8pm. 


The work will be slightly staggered, with construction at Grove Street (between Fillmore and Steiner) to start first, moving westward (from Fillmore to Steiner). Construction is scheduled to have begun yesterday, and the project should wrap up on August 31st.

Fulton Street (going west from Fillmore to Divisadero) will see work beginning sometime next week, and will wrap up around October 16th.

Finally, McAllister Street will see construction move westward from Divisadero to Masonic starting September 7th, and should be completed by January 28th. 

Construction teams will install temporary pavement on the above stretches until all work is completed, at which point permanent paving will be applied. This re-paving will take place starting January 25th, and will end on January 28th. 

Keep in mind, of course, that schedules are liable to change, and if rumors of a wet El Nino prove to be true, work could be delayed due to weather. In the end, we'll hopefully be left with smoother street surfaces and a water main system set to last us another several decades.