precita.org

Mr. G tips us off about this: ``A private contractor team came down Alabama Street (from Ripley to Precita) on Friday 1/30/09 and drilled holes in the street about every ~ 4-10 feet.``




We did some further investigation and found that the hole drilling actually goes from the 100 block of Bernal Heights Blvd (near Bradford), heads north/downhill to Esmerelda towards Alabama, and all the way down Alabama to Precita, where they turn East and go down Precita to Bryant.

All along this way, there are also underground survey markings for all the underground water, gas and electrical services.

It is very similar to the path that the Bernal Hills Water Pipeline takes under Bernal Hill. This is the same pipeline that was replaced over the last 18 months, and terminated at Alabama and Ripley.

Alabama street is already a major "right of way" for other utilities. There are several fiber optic lines going down Alabama (ATT, Qwest, MFN, Level 3 and CCSF/City of San Francisco's fiber ring are all ones that have manhole covers up and down the street with their names on them). We're trying to track down more details on who what the project is, and how long it will be tearing up Alabama.

Labels: bernal hills pipeline, construction, precita, water main

Bernal Heights Pipeline - (Putnam, Nebraska, Powhattan, Alabama, Ripley Streets) Construction Update from

SFWATER.ORG:

Crews are currently are pressure testing the pipeline at Putnam, Nebraska and Powhattan.  Upon passing all pressure tests crews will begin restoring the roadway.  Crew are awaiting the arrival of the last pipe segment to complete the work at Alabama & Ripley. Some parking has been temporarily removed at Alabama & Ripley and traffic patterns have slightly changed. The storing of some materials and equipment is located at Powhattan & Nebraska and also at Bernal Heights Boulevard near Bradford Street.

Work Hours : Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The target completion date for this project is August 2008.

Construction on Nebraska street above Cortland:





Pipes waiting for installation on Ripley at Alabama:

Labels: bernal hills pipeline

While this isn't exactly relevant to Precita Valley, it is on the path that many of us take to get to Cortland.

Here's the story: There has been this big crane (several of them) working on the replacement Bernal Heights Pipeline water line (a large high pressure water main feeding San Francisco) that runs up Putnam, Nebraska, Powhattan and then jogs to go through a tunnel under Bernal, coming out near Alabama and Ripley Streets on the North Side. This construction has been going on a long time, and is nearing completion, hopefully Aug 2008.

Early Satuday morning, around 7am or so, they began the process of moving a large crane that's been working on the Nevada side of the tunnel entrance, to position it on the other side, which required them to drive the crane down Nevada to Cortland, and then up Nebraska to get to the other side.

But during the process of moving it, the driver lost control and it started rolling down Nevada, crushing several cars, taking out a tree and telephone pole, but luckily stopped a few feet short of crashing into any homes.

There are some spectacular photos of the carnage here, and some thumbnails below:

Labels: bernal hills pipeline

If you drive from Precita up to Bernal Hill on Alabama, you'll see a lot of construction. It's the "Bernal Heights Pipeline", which is being replaced by digging a tunnel under Bernal. Tikirobot has some good pictures and more information about this.

Construction Update: Affholder Construction, the tunneling contractor continues boring work within City property through Bernal Hill. The closure of Powhattan Street between Nevada & Nebraska (the "tunnel head") continues until October. Work continues at Cortland Avenue and Nebraska Streets. Some parking has been temporarily removed at Alabama & Ripley and traffic patterns have slightly changed. The storing of some materials and equipment is located at Powhattan & Nebraska and also at Bernal Heights Boulevard near Bradford Street.

The target completion date for this project is October 2007.

Work has now started at Ripley and Alabama, another "tunnel head". Apparently, the tunnel goes directly under some homes. The old tunnel went directly under some homes, but the new tunnel is trying to avoid going under homes. (This is what I've been told, but don't have a reference to back it up.)

Here's a map of the San Francisco water system. You can see this main on the upper left side of SF.

Labels: bernal hills pipeline, construction, water main