TRANSBAY JOINT POWERS AUTHORITY ANNOUNCES REPAIRS TO BEGIN AT TRANSIT CENTER
San Francisco, CA – The Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA) announced today that repair and reinforcement work to address the fractured steel beams at the Transit Center is underway and First Street work begins on site this weekend. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s independent Peer Review Panel approved the repair strategy in December 2018.
Early morning Saturday, February 2, 2019, crews will replace the hydraulic jacks on First Street with a shoring system to allow the TJPA to reinforce the girders on the bus deck above First Street. There will be a one block full closure of First Street between Howard and Mission streets from 5 a.m. Saturday, February 2, 2019 until 8 p.m. Sunday, February 3, 2019 as the replacement occurs.
Steel plates are currently being fabricated offsite and will be delivered to the transit center in March for installation.
Repairs are scheduled to be complete by the first week of June 2019 and then the shoring systems at both Fremont and First streets will be removed. A reopening date of the transit center has not yet been determined.
The MTC’s independent Peer Review Panel is overseeing the TJPA’s review of thousands of building-wide shop drawings, inspection reports, and design documents to determine if any other inspections will be necessary before reopening. After this is ascertained, the TJPA will announce a reopening date.
The Salesforce Transit Center temporarily closed in September 2018 after fissures were discovered in two steel beams on the ceiling of the third-level Bus Deck. After several inspections and out of an abundance of caution, the TJPA temporarily closed the Transit Center. Two shoring systems were installed, one at Fremont Street and as a proactive measure, one at First Street, a similarly designed area of the transit center. Additional inspections and continued monitoring have revealed no additional issues.
“Beginning repairs at the transit center marks a major milestone toward reopening the facility,” said Mark Zabaneh, Executive Director of the Transbay Joint Powers Authority. “While we are eager to welcome the Bay Area back to the transit center, we are balancing this with our responsibility to undertake an appropriately rigorous inspection and review protocol and cooperate with the independent review of the facility,” he added.
Transit operators continue to provide bus service out of the Temporary Transbay Terminal at Howard and Main streets. Transit information is available at 511 or 511.org.
# # #