The sounds of digging, drilling and beeping on Gough Street aren't unique in Hayes Valley, where many construction projects are taking place. But some of Gough's business owners and residents say that construction delays, noise and frequent water main breaks are causing particular havoc, and affecting their success.

The construction along Gough Street began last summer, with the goal of replacing the street's aging water and sewer pipelines and re-paving it after the work is done. At this point, the sewer replacement has been completed, but according to Dadisi Najib, project manager at the San Francisco Department of Public Works, "the timeline was extended due to ongoing utility coordination delays with the water department." The project was meant to wrap up this summer, but now is expected to be completed in February or March of 2016. 

Water main break at Gough and Page on August 12th. (Photo: Beau D.)

As a reminder, three water main breaks have occurred along Gough Street in the past seven weeks. The first took place on Gough and Page during rush hour on the morning of August 12th, shutting down traffic to one lane. The second happened two weeks later on August 31st, at Gough and Ivy streets. The third was at Gough and Lily on September 8th, with water shooting into the air. 

Shannon Kitchen-Juarez, the owner of FLiP Salon at Gough and Lily, reached out to us recently with photos of the construction from her front door. The salon opened two years ago, and during almost all of that time, construction has been taking place on Gough Street. "Not all of Hayes Valley is 'on fire,' she said in her original email. "We are only managing to hang on by a thread, because of this road work."  

View of Gough Street from FLiP Salon's door. (Photo: Shannon Kitchen-Juarez)

Kitchen-Juarez moved her business from its original Chestnut Street location to Gough Street, due to both rising rents in the Marina and the appeal of the Hayes Valley neighborhood. 112 Gough St. was empty and in bad shape when Kitchen-Juarez took it over, but she renovated the space and opened in June 2013. 

Despite having a solid regular clientele (FLiP specializes in highlights), the salon relies heavily on walk-ins, which are being affected by the large construction machines blocking the entrance to the shop. A water main break several weeks ago shut down water service on the whole block, forcing Kitchen-Juarez to close the salon for the day. She's reached out to London Breed and the Mayor's office, with no response. 

FLiP Salon isn't the only business being affected by the Gough Street construction. Michelle Polzine, owner of 20th Century Cafe, had a long list of complaints about the ongoing work. "There have been water mains broken, mud splattered all over my windows. They've opened and closed the street in front of my cafe more times than I can count," she told us. "The noise and the smell are hard on my workers, and my cafe becomes not such a pleasant scene, with all of the nonsense."

Local resident Jaqui Naylor lives above 20th Century Cafe, in the historic Rube Goldberg building. The construction feels "endless," she told us. "Gough and Oak is already a loud intersection, but one we're used to. Now, the regular hammering, drilling and pounding means we often must close the doors to the rooms facing the street just to be able to carry on a conversation in our apartment."

Naylor also cites the water main breaks as a major problem. "There are gallons of water pouring down the street for long periods of time," she said. "This is hard to see in a drought, when we are all trying to conserve."

Luckily, a reprieve is coming up later this year; the project will experience a moratorium on construction between Thanksgiving and New Year's. It should should wrap up by springtime.