Sure, it looks empty above; but wait ‘til the aging bridge decks near the site of the Alemany Farmers Market get their steel and concrete beams replaced next summer.
Not many people go to the Portola neighborhood, but a lot of people go through the Portola neighborhood. The Chronicle estimates that 244,000 cars traverse a stretch of U.S. Route 101 above Portola on a daily basis. The Chronicle also estimates that these drivers will endure a horrible July and possibly also August in the summer of 2020, as a bridge deck repair project with the innocent name 101 Deck Replacement project at Alemany Circle in San Francisco has been given the derisive nickname “Carmageddon”. Caltrans officials predict “the project will cause backups for 6 miles” on a stretch that already does not move particularly smoothly.
“I would agree with you that whole entire area is completely congested with no work going on,“ Caltrans Bay Area Director Tony Tavares said at a Caltans meeting Tuesday. “It’s going to get even worse during this period of time.”
As far as Caltrans videos go, the Alemany Deck Replacement Project video above is informative, has some cool historical shots of the 1950s-era deck structure, and also some lovely computer animation to explain how Caltrans plans to bust up 25 spans of steel-reinforced concrete, replace the steel, and put in new concrete.
But if you live anywhere near the Alemany Boulevard exit, seen as little star on the Caltrans map above, you will see 101 highway traffic routed onto your neighborhood streets. Northbound traffic will be forced to exit at Alemany Boulevard and get back on to the 101 a quarter mile ahead. Southbound travelers will be forced to use the new northbound lanes while that span has its work done. Both directions will have their work performed at separate times, and each direction’s repairs are projected to last nine days (ha!).
It’s only 800 feet of deck area being reconstructed, but it will have congestion ripple effects for miles. Motorists are encouraged to consider alternate routes, use public transit, or simply spend their time in bumper-to-bumper traffic contemplating how this is at least better than having concrete chunks fall on your car.
Related: MacArthur Maze Rebuild Portends Massive Traffic Snarl [SFist]
Image: Caltrans YouTube channel
