Things are going to be very unusual at the 24th and Mission Muni stop this week and next, as a Public Works project resulted in a large body of water gushing up at what is normally a 14-Mission and 49-Van Ness stop.

There was a peculiar sight Wednesday afternoon at what we would normally consider a bus stop at 24th and Mission streets. And apparently, things are going to remain peculiar at 24th and Mission for all of this week, and next week, too.

Instead of a bus stop, at 3:30 pm Wednesday, there was a rather large body of water at 24th and Mission, and a great deal of Muni rider confusion in terms of what on earth was happening here.  

Things are at least fenced off to keep people out of the water and whatever construction wreckage is happening. But clearly, the current 24th and Mission bus stop for those traveling southbound on the 14-Mission and 49-Van Ness is currently out of commission.

This gushing pipe looks to be the culprit, and Public Works confirmed to SFist that indeed, it was.

“Our team was performing excavation work on the concrete bus pad located at the southwest corner of 24th Street and Mission Street as part of an ongoing infrastructure improvement project,” a Public Works representative tells SFist. “During the excavation of the final section of the bus pad, the backhoe inadvertently struck an unmarked domestic water main. This impact caused the excavation area to rapidly fill with water, temporarily halting work.”

“Upon discovery of the damaged water line, the Water Department was immediately notified and promptly responded to the scene to assess and repair the break,” the rep added. “Their team has since completed the necessary repairs to restore water service and ensure the area is safe for continued work."

Indeed, the lake is gone as of Thursday morning (the image above was taken at 8:30 am Thursday). But what remains is a great deal of confusion over how to board the buses heading up Mission Street.

What are we doing here, SFMTA? Is this sign any way to notify people of a Muni stop change? Never mind the countless limited-English proficiency violations in this English-only sign, whomever wrote this hardscrabble signage apparently just changed their mind and scribbled out various sections while writing it.

Either way, the southbound 24th and Mission streets Muni stop is out of service until Friday, August 1.

Riders are figuring out that they have to move about 100 feet down the street to catch the bus (the new temporary stop is right is front of Rosamunde Sausage Grill). But they are figuring this out mostly via trial and error.

Still, this is a legitimate Public Works project that is slated to last the remainder of this week, plus next week, through August 1. A representative at 311 tells us this is a “Muni-related project” where a “bus pad is being replaced.” These bus pads are apparently additional concrete reinforcements required under some high-traffic Muni stops.

Be warned that this project is also somewhat disrupting southbound traffic on Mission street, starting a block up at 23rd street, with the whole right lane blocked.

Northbound traffic on Mission Street, and the availability of parking spots, are also being affected by the project.  

Again, these disruptions will continue through Friday, August 1. Though hopefully there will be no more unexpected floods on Mission Street.

Related: One of 24th Street’s Largest Ficus Trees Has Been Reduced to Sawdust and a Stump [SFist]

Images: Joe Kukura, SFist