Speaker Pelosi and Mayor Newsom Announce Doyle Drive Project Is Shovel Ready

Contact: San Francisco Mayor's Office of Communications,

415-554-6131

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Saturday, February 28, 2009... Today Mayor Gavin Newsom and Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined regional leaders in announcing that construction to replace Doyle Drive, the main southern approach to the Golden Gate Bridge, will be expedited by Caltrans and save taxpayers $90 million dollars. Construction on the project is now slated to begin this year, instead of the originally scheduled date of 2010.

“With California receiving a nearly $2.6 billion share of highway funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, we have another significant opportunity to move the new Presidio Parkway closer to becoming a reality,” Speaker Pelosi said. “Together, we will build not only a new bridge, but a new opportunity for job creation and economic recovery here in San Francisco.”

“The Doyle Drive Replacement project has been a vision for more than 15 years, and because of the strong regional commitment to partner and prioritize this critical infrastructure project, it is now a reality,” said Mayor Newsom. “This project is shovel ready and a signature example of how the federal stimulus can close the funding gap, stimulate the economy, improve transportation, and create jobs in San Francisco.”

In the past year, the region has worked together to fill the funding gap in the reconstruction project. Last January, the anticipated shortfall was over $400 million. The reduction is in part, a result of redirected federal earmarks, $90 million in savings from expediting the project, and the State share of federal stimulus funds.

Doyle Drive on U.S. 101 traverses the Presidio of San Francisco and serves as the southern approach to the Golden Gate Bridge. This badly deteriorated structure is designated a Post Disaster Recovery Route and is the only link between the San Francisco peninsula and northern California counties. The project will replace this aging facility with a new parkway connecting San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Presidio of San Francisco, which is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The project features six travel lanes plus an eastbound auxiliary lane between the Park Presidio interchange and a new Presidio access at Girard Road.

The Federal Highway Administration issued a Record of Decision on the environmental document for the Doyle Drive Replacement Project in December 2008. Due to its importance, the City and County of San Francisco, the San Francisco Transportation Authority (SFCTA), and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) have partnered with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the State of California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to advance a project to improve seismic, structural, and traffic safety along Doyle Drive. The implementation plan is the result of about 15 years of planning, studies and negotiations.