19th Avenue Project Update

If you’re a westside resident like me, you’ve seen improvements to 19th Avenue; now the City’s work on that busy thoroughfare is complete. I’ve been anxiously awaiting their project to get done, so that the state can begin its own plans to repave the road.

Years ago, lawmakers like me fought to fund transportation projects throughout California. We saw the need to fix our deteriorating roads and highways. Without a reliable way for people to get to work or companies to transport goods, our economy could be negatively impacted.

Our push culminated in Senate Bill 1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act, which state lawmakers and I approved in 2017. This landmark legislation had been the first time since 1994 that the excise tax on gasoline had increased. With annual adjustments tied to the Consumer Price Index, this historic transportation investment brings in an estimated $52 billion over 10 years. 

This steady, reliable funding has helped and continues to help cities, counties and public transit agencies tackle an enormous backlog of road maintenance and repairs, as well as make safety improvements for pedestrians and bicyclists. Senate Bill 1 is helping fuel street repairs in San Francisco, and 19th Avenue was definitely a candidate for SB-1 funds, given its condition.

Repaving had been slated to start last year, but the City’s work had to be finished first before the state could proceed. When a city and the state share the responsibility for a particular road, such as 19th Avenue, which is also California Highway 1, collaboration and coordination are required when both want to make improvements.

I understand why local leaders wanted to do the underground work beneath 19th Avenue first before the state repaved it. After all, who wants to rip up a smooth, pothole-free road when aging infrastructure like water and sewer lines need to be replaced? So, the City started with the below-surface upgrades, as well as above-ground work, such as the installation of more sidewalk extensions, curb ramps, bus bulb-outs and traffic lights to make walking safer and public transit more reliable.

That project started in November 2020 and was supposed to take 27 months. Instead, it took longer. During construction, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission proposed to change the new pipeline along 19th Avenue from ductile iron to welded steel to increase pipeline pressure capacity. It can accommodate potable water and be used for emergency fire protection purposes. Changing the material, though, required a redesign and lengthened the time it took to make the new pipeline. 

Then, when it was time for installation, the work coincided with the Stern Grove Music Festival. Since the City’s Recreation and Park Department has jurisdiction over the venue’s plaza entrance, its regulations stipulate that no construction can occur during the summer months. The rule makes sense, considering the size of the crowds going to the concerts and the safety risk the area poses when surfaces are torn up. Both the change in pipeline design and the summer blackout in road work pushed the completion date out to last November. 

With the City’s project done, CalTrans takes over and will complete the paving of 19th Avenue. You may have noticed a segment near Sloat Boulevard is a lot smoother now. A couple of months ago, CalTrans crews did emergency repaving work on that small stretch. The resident engineer said these recent repairs are a precursor to a broader project scheduled for 19th Avenue. 

The state transportation agency will complete the design phase by this November and put the project out for bid in January. Then, the remainder of the state project will begin in the summer of 2025, repaving the north and southbound directions of 19th Avenue, from San Francisco State University to Golden Gate Park. 

In the meantime, since there’s a lull now, the City has started improvements to Sunset Boulevard, so that it can be used as an alternative route when the main state work on 19th Avenue is underway. When it’s all said and done, CalTrans says it would take two years to complete their work. 

I’m crossing my fingers, hoping they keep to their timeline of finishing mid-2027. We’ve all been waiting a long time for a 19th Avenue that serves everyone well.

Phil Ting represents the 19th Assembly District, which includes the west side of San Francisco along with the communities of Broadmoor, Colma and Daly City as well as part of South San Francisco.