San Francisco Announces Final Environmental Clearance for Major Rail Project

San Francisco-The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA)earlier this month announced that the Central Subway project, which is Phase 2 of the Third Street Light Rail Project, has received a Record of Decision (ROD) from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). The ROD, which was issued on November 26, 2008, is required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and represents the final environmental clearance for the project. Also today, the SFMTA Board of Directors approved a $147 million contract for Program Management/Construction Management (PM/CM) of the Central Subway that moves San Francisco one step closer to extending the existing Third Street Light Rail line from 4th and King streets to Chinatown.

"The Central Subway will help relieve congestion on one of the most crowded corridors in the country," said Mayor Gavin Newsom. "The project will also provide thousands of jobs in these difficult economic times."

"These developments are significant milestones for a project that is crucial to the future of transportation in San Francisco," said SFMTA Executive Director/CEO Nathaniel P. Ford, Sr. "The Central Subway will move more people more quickly and will help attract new transit customers."

The Central Subway will extend light rail service primarily on the recently opened T Third line from Fourth and King streets to Chinatown. The project will have a surface platform station at Fourth and Brannan streets and subway stations at Moscone/Yerba Buena, Market Street/Union Square and Chinatown.

The goal of the project is to accommodate existing and future transit ridership in the corridor with greater reliability, comfort and speed. By 2030, the San Francisco Planning Department projects a 26 percent increase in overall corridor population and a 61 percent increase in corridor employment. The project is projected to have 78,000 riders in 2030. The Central Subway will improve regional connections to Caltrain, BART and Muni, reduce air and noise pollution and relieve surface congestion.

The PM/CM contract-set to last five years with an additional five-year option-was negotiated by SFMTA staff after a competitive process. Services to be performed by the Central Subway Partnership, a Joint Venture of AECOM USA, Inc. and EPC Consultants, include overall program management, overseeing and tracking the environmental mitigation plan, risk management, public outreach and regulatory and interagency coordination, among many other tasks. The contract goes to the Board of Supervisors later this month.

The $1.3 billion Central Subway project has been favorably evaluated by the FTA as a "New Starts" project and is receiving federal funding from Congress. Construction is expected to begin in 2010, with service to the public starting in 2016. For more information, please visit the SFMTA website at www.sfmta.com/central.