With construction ongoing during shelter in place, Upper Haight project is ahead of schedule

With construction ongoing during shelter in place, Upper Haight project is ahead of scheduleImage via SF Public Works
Camden Avery
Published on July 02, 2020

There's an unexpected upside to the city's shelter-in-place order during the COVID-19 pandemic: the years-long Upper Haight transit improvement and pedestrian realm project, set to end in the summer of 2021, has moved ahead of schedule.

The news is a bright spot for neighbors of the Upper Haight, which has been intermittently beset by construction woes and substantial street closures for over five years, beginning with a long string of ill-fated gas line replacements.

Public Works spokesperson Alex Murillo said in an email that crews have been able to restructure the "essential construction" project during the citywide shutdown, taking advantage of reduced area traffic to expedite the work.

The clock was moved up on sidewalks, resurfacing, bulb-outs and new curbs, and crews were able to work on more areas at a time than previously planned.

The project is now "slightly ahead of schedule," Murillo said, and the current, final phase of work is expected to wrap up June of 2021, though Murillo added, "we continue to strategize on how we could wrap up the project earlier."

Crews will be on holiday this Friday for the 4th of July, and resume Monday, July 6.

Next week, contractors will begin removing and replacing the sidewalk on the north side of Haight Street's 1500 block, which will take until around 7/18 to complete.

Other work continues simultaneously, including installing new pedestrian street lighting and traffic semaphores, which have yet to be connected.