SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) -- Muni Metro service wants to connect Mission Bay to Chinatown. When it’s finished in eight years the Central Subway will be an underground extension of Muni’s T-Line running through a tunnel from Fourth and Brannan streets all the way to Chinatown. The actual tunneling won’t begin until next year.
Workers have started relocating utility lines under Fourth Street. Mayor Gavin Newsom and a host of local leaders staged a ceremonial ground-breaking to celebrate.
KCBS’ Doug Sovern reports
“This project is still tagged at about $1.6 billion and a lot of folks are quite cynical about this, but I say this with some confidence that we will deliver on time and on money,” said the mayor.
Most of that money is expected to come from the federal government which has not committed all of its one billion dollar share just yet.
It’s a huge victory for the Chinatown interests which have been clamoring for a transit connection since the 1980’s even though the 1.7 mile subway will only have four stops.
The project could create 40,000 jobs, but if the project doesn’t meet ridership projections, this could be San Francisco’s version of Boston’s big dig.
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