SFPCU Construction Notice: Lane Closure Planned on S. Spruce Avenue between Huntington Avenue and Centennial Trail

Beginning as early as Monday, March 28, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s (SFPUC’s) Regional Groundwater Storage & Recovery Project will begin installing a new pipeline along S. Spruce Avenue between Huntington Avenue and the Centennial Way Trail in South San Francisco. 

• The SFPUC will install an eight inch diameter pipeline along S. Spruce Avenue.
• During pipeline construction, one eastbound lane will remain open to traffic from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. All eastbound lanes on S. Spruce Avenue will reopen at the end of each work day.
• Flaggers will be at the intersection of Huntington Avenue and S. Spruce Avenue to guide traffic during construction.
• During lane closures, access to businesses and homes will be maintained at all times.
• Construction activities are anticipated to last for approximately two weeks. 
• This Project will provide additional sources of water supply to our Peninsula customers in times of drought.

Construction Activities Resume

 

Construction activities for the Regional Groundwater Storage & Recovery (GSR) and Peninsula Pipeline Seismic Upgrade (PPSU) projects will resume today, February 16, after observing the President's Day Holiday.

What’s On Tap in the Peninsula for 2016?

Our SFPUC teams in the Peninsula are looking forward to a busy 2016! The $4.8 billion Water System Improvement Program (WSIP) might be more than 90 percent complete, but there’s still a lot of work left to complete. We look forward to continuing to share information about our current projects and starting new ones in the New Year. Here are a few highlights of what to expect in 2016.

Regional Groundwater Construction Continues to Charge Forward
The Regional Groundwater Storage & Recovery project charges forward to complete well drilling this year, and then the focus will shift to building well facilities at 13 separate sites in 2016. .


Project team directing concrete pour in South San Francisco

The Regional Groundwater and Storage Recovery project is constructing up to 16 new groundwater wells and associated pipelines and equipment to allow us to store groundwater in wet years for use in times of drought. Learn more about the project here: www.sfwater.org/gsr. Construction started in April 2015 and is estimated to be complete in March 2018?


Seismic Upgrade Success in the Peninsula
The Peninsula Pipeline Seismic Upgrade Project (PPSU) project is wrapping up restoration activities. We anticipate the project to be complete in winter 2016. The construction team is working to ensure that the project’s sites are returned to the same condition before our pipeline replacement work started in summer 2014.

The PPSU project consisted of seismic upgrades to three Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System delivery pipelines located in Millbrae, San Bruno, South San Francisco and Colma. These upgrades make the water system more reliable after an earthquake.

Clearing the Way for New Native Habitat on Watershed Lands
Coming up on the Peninsula Watershed this spring, watershed crews will begin hand-removing pampas grass, periwinkle and other non-native, invasive vegetation from several acres along and near the east side of Lower Crystal Springs Reservoir. Over the years the invasive species have gradually but consistently overcome and displaced the area’s original native grasses and other plants.

This initial brush clearing will be the first step in a long-term comprehensive Bioregional Habitat Program to restore about 150 acres of native grasses and oak woodlands within the 26,000-acre watershed. The program is designed to compensate for impacts to habitat resulting from seismic reconstruction of major drinking water facilities within the watershed.


Crews hand-remove non-native, invasive vegetation to make way for the restoration of our historic native habitats.

Hike, Bike, or Ride the Fifield Cahill Ridge Trail
In case you were not aware, members of the public can hike, mountain bike, or ride their horses through the Peninsula Watershed on the Fifield-Cahill Ridge Trail. Access to the trail is by guided groups by reservation only. Those wanting to experience pristine old-growth forests, grassy meadows and ridgetop vistas should make a reservation on line: here.

Make a reservation to hike, bike, or ride on the Fifield Cahill Ridge Trail.

Tree Removal along El Camino Real between Southwood Drive and Orange Avenue

Beginning in late January, the Regional Groundwater Storage & Recovery (GSR) Project will begin removing approximately 26 trees on the SFPUC’s right of way to prepare for pipe installation along El Camino Real between Southwood Drive and Orange Avenue.

Along El Camino Real, the Project will install an eight inch diameter pipeline Real to connect our regional water customers with emergency water supply wells nearby. Our biologists carefully evaluated these trees, and determined the trees would suffer more damage to their roots and foundation if we were to leave them, causing a safety hazard. Due these factors, their age and health they cannot be saved and need to be removed prior to pipeline construction.

The SFPUC is working closely with the City of South San Francisco’s Park and Recreation Department to replace the trees with new vegetation along the right of way in accordance with the SFPUC’s vegetation management policy. The project team has marked the trees to be removed with ribbons.

Above are examples of the trees to be removed.

During tree removal and pipeline construction, the sidewalk and parking lane along southbound El Camino Real between Southwood Drive and W Orange Avenue will be closed Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

Indicated above are the locations of the trees to be removed, the sidewalk detour route and parking lane closure details.

Happy Holidays from Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System!

Thank you for being wonderful customers and neighbors throughout construction in 2015. It has been a busy year on the Peninsula, the SFPUC’s Water System Improvement Program (WSIP) celebrated the completion of the Harry Tracy Water Treatment Plant in San Bruno and the last major water transmission pipeline in the Peninsula region coming into service.

While the Water System Improvement Program overall is now 90 percent complete, we still have a long way to go and our crews are hard at work this holiday season. Below are the construction schedules for the Peninsula Pipeline Seismic Upgrade, Regional Groundwater Storage & Recovery Projects and the San Andreas Pipeline #2 at Junipero Serra Park.

• Construction will be suspended Thursday, December 24 through Sunday, December 27.
• Construction will be suspended Thursday, December 31 through Sunday, January 3.
• Regular construction schedules will resume Monday, January 4.