PRESIDIO PARKWAY (KRON) — Rushed weekend construction of a major artery leading from San Francisco to the Golden Gate Bridge is causing problems due to misaligned lanes entering the Park Presidio tunnel.
Now Caltrans says they will close lanes beginning at 10 p.m. to correct the problem. Lines will be extended through the tunnel and the possible need for additional signage will be evaluated. It is not known how long the closures will be in effect nor how many lanes will be impacted.
Caltrans had a striping problem while laying down lane markers, with roughly a three-foot gap between lane makers leading into the tunnel.
Construction crews finished over 8 hours ahead of schedule, opening the 9 p.m. Sunday night instead of 5 a.m. Monday morning, which was when they were set to finish.
“They did this over the weekend and did this part incorrectly,” tunnel architect Michael Painter admitted, “It’s supposed to be a 10 foot wide shoulder, and all the lanes should be parallel” he said.
Painter believes the fix should come immediately, but it will most likely happen over the course of the next few days. In an exclusive interview with KRON 4, Painter expressed his shock when he drove into the tunnel for the first time.
“I was surprised at the abruptness of the switch” he said.
“The whole thing has to be pushed over” Painter said, “Someone, in the rush to get this open, made an error”
When asked what should be done to resolve the dangerous lane stripings, Painter said “I think they should have a blinking light to draw attention.”
Project spokeswoman Molly Graham said that the lanes were a “temporary alignment” and they had a limited amount of time to work on this.
According to Caltrans officials, fixing the lanes are a priority, and re-striping could begin as early as Monday night.
“If you have an accident, whether its temporary or permanent doesn’t really make a difference,” Painter said.