Public Works says Upper Haight street work will now last two years, not one

Public Works says Upper Haight street work will now last two years, not onePhoto: Camden Avery/Hoodline
Camden Avery
Published on August 21, 2018

Last week, the Department of Public Works issued a revised notice regarding the extensive work set to begin for the Upper Haight Transit Improvement and Pedestrian Realm Project, which will commence after Labor Day

The major change in the notice is that the work is scheduled to be finished in the fall of 2020 — two years from the start of the project — rather than the one year originally announced in a mailing to residents and businesses last month.

"Unfortunately, the contractor's notice was not accurate," said Public Works public affairs officer Alex Murillo in an email apologizing for the confusion. "A new notice has been sent with the correct information ... We'd like to make sure that residents and businesses have accurate information, to avoid any unintended expectations."

The new mailing makes clear that though the project's sewer work is slated for completion next April, "the overall project won't be complete until fall 2020."

Though the scope of the work was initially estimated to last two years, the lapse in communication isn't reassuring for locals, who face this project with a wary eye after 2015's Haight infrastructure work.

At the time, businesses and residents endured numerous contractor mishaps and gas line ruptures that ultimately resulted in the city firing one of its subcontractors, Synergy Project Management. 

The contractor on the new project is A. Ruiz Construction Co.

When the project kicks off on September 3, the first wave of work undertaken will be sewer main replacements on Haight at Central and Masonic, with work progressing gradually up towards Stanyan. That will be followed by new traffic semaphores, new curb bulb-outs, and upgraded plantings.