Federal Funds Could Revive Fort Mason F-Line Extension PlanThe shuttered east end of the Fort Mason Tunnel. | Photo: Carrie Sisto/Hoodline
Carrie Sisto
Published on May 31, 2017

Fort Mason tenants and Marina District residents could have a new commute option if plans to restore a century-old tunnel between Aquatic Park and Fort Mason Center move forward.

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority (SFMTA) has applied for a $1.1 million federal grant to study the idea, said agency spokesman Paul Rose.

Proposed F-Line extension. | Via SFMTA

The grant would cover engineering and cost studies for bringing the F-line and its vintage street cars closer to Ghirardelli Square and Aquatic Park, and possibly extending them through the inactive tunnel into Fort Mason. Today, the F-line terminates near Jones and Jefferson Streets.

There is strong support for the plan from merchants along the Wharf, in Ghirardelli Square, and the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce — all of whom understand the value of connecting the whole waterfront, said Rick Laubscher, president of Market Street Railway Association, a nonprofit that advocates for preserving historical transit.

Conference space at Fort Mason could provide more options for hotels on the Wharf, and Marina residents could travel from Fort Mason directly to the Ferry Building or even continue up Market Street, Laubscher said.

Riders can take the current F-line from the Castro to Jones and Jefferson Streets. | Image: Market Street Railway Association

But the idea could see further delays, especially if the $1.1 million Federal Lands Access Program grant doesn’t come through. Even if the grant is received, the tunnel will need to be seismically retrofitted and other engineering requirements will likely make the project costly, Laubscher said.

The Fort Mason tunnel was built as part of San Francisco’s first F-line to transport materials needed to construct the 1915 World’s Fair site and bring visitors to that Panama Pacific International Exposition. The route mirrored the current 30-Stockton bus route, which runs from Market up Stockton, through North Beach and to Scott Street in the Marina. 

Because it was on Army land, the federal government built the tunnel and the railroad, using them to move ammunition, materials and occasionally military personnel through Fort Mason to the Presidio. The tunnel was built to bypass Fort Mason, rather than bring people to it as currently being considered.

The tracks were also used by State Belt Railroad to serve all the piers in San Francisco, Laubscher said, rather than individual railroads having their own separate tracks across the city. 

State Belt Line near the Ferry Building. | Image: Found SF/ The San Francisco History Center/SF Public Library

By the mid-1970s, port traffic was largely transferred to Oakland and the Army stopped running trains to the Presidio, so the tracks were paved over and the tunnel was boarded up. Around the same time, Fort Mason was transferred to the National Park Service.

GGNRA’s first master plan, adopted in 1980, reserved the future use of the tunnel as rail for public transit, and the initial plans for the F-line in the 1980s had it extending to Fort Mason, Laubscher said.

Instead, the F-line terminates at Fisherman’s Wharf near Pier 39. A feasibility study conducted in 2009 determined that it was technically possible to extend the line all the way back to the Presidio, but GGNRA and SFMTA in 2013 decided that Fort Mason should be the terminus in a final Record of Decision.

The West end of the Fort Mason tunnel would need seismic upgrades before reopening | Photo: Carrie Sisto/Hoodline

Since that decision was made, SF Planning has rebuilt Jefferson Street between Jones and Leavenworth, so the initial planned route may not be as feasible, Laubscher said.

If SFMTA wins the grant, it will study the feasibility of using the planned route, or identifying alternatives such as adding a second line up Jones Street, to Beach Street, he said.

The overall cost of the Fort Mason Tunnel project is unknown, Rose told us. If the grant is awarded, “we would develop a general plan and scope. Then we would have to identify additional funding to complete a project,” he said.

Laubscher said he doesn’t know what the chances are of SFMTA winning the grant, and it is unlikely we will know until the end of June, at the earliest.