City begins Transit Center repairs but won’t set reopening date

The Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA) announced Friday that repairs will finally begin on the Transbay Transit Center, more than four months after mysteriously cracked support beams shuttered the barely-used, $2.2 billion downtown facility.

According to Friday’s statement:

Early morning Saturday, February 2, 2019 , crews will replace the hydraulic jacks on First Street with a shoring system to allow the TJPA to reinforce the girders on the bus deck above First Street.

[...] Steel plates are currently being fabricated offsite and will be delivered to the transit center in March for installation. Repairs are scheduled to be complete by the first week of June 2019 and then the shoring systems at both Fremont and First streets will be removed.

However, the statement also cautions that the closure may last beyond June if subsequent investigations identify additional problems with the structure.

While the city agency knows the immediate cause of the cracking (related to the welding process used to put the beams in place), questions remain about whether other, as-yet unidentified flaws might have exacerbated the problem.

There is still no projected schedule for a reopening of the transit center. The TJPA board meets again on February 14, and a clearer picture of a potential timeline might emerge.

But don’t put any bets on it. The one thing this extended fiasco seems to have to spare is plenty of time.

• Construction Schedule For Repairs [TJPA]
• Welds To Blame For Cracks [Curbed SF]
• Transit Center Closed [Curbed SF]