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Friday Slide Show: Wrapping It Up
24 August 2018
When we published Signs earlier in the summer, the Twin Peaks Tunnel Improvement project was just starting. We promised more photos of the construction site at the West Portal station and here they are.
Since those first shots, the plain black-and-white signage we shot was replaced with fancier color signs. That seems to be the only deadline that was missed.
The sidewalk barricades had come down by the time we returned early this week, the last week of the project. The piles of gravel and dirt had mostly disappeared, too. There were still a few construction vehicles in the staging area, which took up the first block outside the tunnel.
Sadly, there has been one death, 51-year-old Patrick Ricketts of Williams in Colusa County.
On a trip to the site early this week when these images were taken, we detected more than a few signs that showed the project was wrapping up. Like traffic cones hanging from the overhead wires and gear gathered on the street.
And just yesterday we saw the first streetcars in the station, one in each direction, testing the tracks.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency tweeted last night that the 2.2-mile tunnel will reopen on Saturday. That's a great relief to the 80,000 people who use the lines running through the tunnel. It hasn't been easy this summer.
The project still needs two late night closures to complete electrical work that have not been scheduled yet. Barring any unforeseen issues, that is.
Sadly, there has been one death, 51-year-old Patrick Ricketts of Williams in Colusa County. He was a Shimmick Construction signal technician who had been hit in the head by a steel beam in the tunnel.
We'll close this piece with our condolences to his family.
