The new Presidio Parkway—née Doyle Drive—is set to open at 10 p.m., Sunday night, seven hours ahead of schedule.
The commute nightmare has finally come to an end, as workers put the finishing touches on the new roadway to make it usable. While there's still work to be done—such as putting the greenways on the tunnels and extending Halleck Street—commuters coming in from Marin County will no longer be diverted onto Highway 1 and tourists can easily find their way to the Golden Gate Bridge once again. With the closure going into effect on Thursday night, many commuters avoided the Bridge on Friday, with almost a 50% drop in traffic that day.
"They've made really great progress," project spokeswoman Molly Graham told SFGate on Sunday afternoon. "There was a lot of planning that went into this, and everything went according to plan. Everything's lining up to open early."
The project is meant to provide more lanes of traffic to-and-from the Golden Gate Bridge, replace the seismically deficient Doyle Drive, and to create continuous green space between the Presidio and Crissy Field. There will now be two sets of tunnels and a viaduct approaching the bridge.
"It's a brand new commute, there are beautiful views, and we really want people to keep eyes on the road," said Graham.
Related: Reckless Driver On Golden Gate Bridge Plows Through Toll Plaza Onto Closed Doyle Drive