The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has delayed the Central Subway Project for a second time this year, which will push the line’s opening into 2022.
Last year, SFMTA targeted a summer 2021 opening date for the project before revising that to the end of 2021 earlier this year.
SFMTA explained in a Nov. 12 blog the delay can be attributed to continued impacts of the pandemic, as well as ongoing design changes.
“Before the pandemic, we anticipated that construction would be finished by the end of next month, with customers riding trains at the start of revenue service a year later. Our current projections put the completion of construction this spring and the start of service in the following spring of 2022,” wrote SFMTA Public Affairs Manager Phillip Pierce.
The four main reasons SFMTA provided include:
- Moving to remote work and instituting necessary safety measures and procedures during COVID-19;
- Quarantining multiple contractor crews when, despite safety measures, some of the team tested positive for COVID-19;
- Difficulties and delays in getting materials from suppliers during COVID-19; and
- Ongoing design changes throughout the project due to the differing site conditions discovered deep underground.
SFMTA recognizes the delay will impact the overall budget of the project, but noted it is working with its contractors to complete the Central Subway “as safely and prudently as possible.”
Despite the overall delay of the project, some key milestones have been reached. For example, construction of the tunnels and tracks are complete, with crews focusing on systems such as automatic train control cabling, traction power and communications.
Art installation continues at stations and SFMTA has installed a ceremonial “Golden Spike” at the juncture on 4th Street where the new Central Subway connects with the existing T Third rail line.
Additionally, SFMTA explains most work will be occurring underground for the remainder of the project rather than at street level. One block of Washington Street in Chinatown that remains closed for work is scheduled to reopen around the end of the year.
When completed, the 1.7-mile project will extend SFMTA’s Metro T Third Line through SoMa, Union Square and Chinatown, which the transit agency says will improve transportation to and from some of the city’s busiest, most densely populated areas.
Mischa Wanek-Libman | Group Editorial Director
Mischa Wanek-Libman is director of communications with Transdev North America. She has more than 20 years of experience working in the transportation industry covering construction projects, engineering challenges, transit and rail operations and best practices.
Wanek-Libman has held top editorial positions at freight rail and public transportation business-to-business publications including as editor-in-chief and editorial director of Mass Transit from 2018-2024. She has been recognized for editorial excellence through her individual work, as well as for collaborative content.
She is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association's Marketing and Communications Committee and served 14 years as a Board Observer on the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) Board of Directors.
She is a graduate of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication.
