The $2.2 billion boondoggle appears to be properly un-boondoggling itself, as a previous declaration of a “June at the earliest” turns out to be just slightly off. It looks like July 1 will be the day, according to the Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA).

The running joke that is the Salesforce Transit Center, the exceptionally fancy $2.2 billion downtown bus hub with stunning architecture and a rooftop park, has received its first bit of good news since the discovery of cracked steel beams forced its closure eight months ago. The refreshed, new, high-tech version of the Transbay Terminal had been open only six weeks when it was suddenly shut down last September (awkwardly, on the very first day of Salesforce’s Dreamforce conference), but engineers have just given it a clean bill of health. The San Francisco Chronicle reported late Monday that the transit center is safe for reopening, and NBC Bay Area followed up Tuesday with word from the TJPA that buses will begin running through the terminal again at 6 a.m. on July 1st.


“We agree the steel structure is ready for service,” Metropolitan Transportation Commission executive director Therese McMillan said in a letter obtained by the San Francisco Examiner. “We can represent to you and the public alike confidence that the Transbay Transit Center’s girder problem was isolated and that the appropriate repairs have been performed.”

The Examiner initially reported that it “it may take weeks” for any of the Muni, AC Transit, Greyhound, or Amtrak shuttle buses to resume services at the hub. Apparently there are still disassembled ceiling pieces strewn about the third-level floor that house AC Transit stops, among other complications. Transit Joint Powers Authority director Mark Zabaneh told the Examiner last week that they would “reach out” to these services once the whole place was declared safe again, which it now has been.

Also, NBC Bay Area just reported over the weekend that this year's inspections yielded plenty of cause of concern about the rest of the steel in the building, with multiple areas still potentially prone to cracking.

The directors also say that the center’s lovely rooftop park (which has had its own separate issues) and its “grand hall” will reopen first, though they’ve offered no timeline on that. And additionally, no word on the launch of that kick-ass skyline glass gondola that San Francisco so richly deserves.


This is certainly welcome news.

Let the rooftop yoga classes and picnics resume.

Related: 'Salesforce Transit Center' Is Now Officially A Thing; SFMTA Head Calls It 'Distasteful' [SFist]