California’s first public-private partnership for road construction used a temporary bypass and creative scheduling to speed up replacement of a 70-year-old seismically vulnerable access to San Francisco’s iconic Golden Gate Bridge. The $1-billion project peaked last month when a tightly orchestrated, three-day closure made way for traffic to move onto a new permanent roadway after seven years of phased construction.
The 1.5-mile section of Highway 101, known as Doyle Drive, built in 1936, carries 100,000 cars a day and serves as the main route following the bay shore from the north coast through Presidio Park, a former military base, and into San Francisco. The new transition, also known as Presidio Parkway, includes an elevated interchange from the bridge toll plaza, two sets of tunnels and two sets of elevated viaducts.