Fab 4 Rehabilitation Projects Making Progress

What are they? They are four major freeway and road rehabilitation projects that will rehabilitate the integrity of structures and restore the safety of San Francisco’s most trafficked arteries.  Included is the 19th Avenue repaving project starting in summer 2025; the US-101 rehabilitation at Hospital Curve starting fall 2025; the Central Freeway/1-80 Bayshore Bridge project starting in spring 2026, and the I-280 pedestrian overcrossing rebuild located at Cayuga Park starting in 2027. Learn more about these exciting projects at www.sfhighwayprojects.com.

Major Freeway Closures Ahead

During Fab 4 Construction, Please Use Public Transportation

Springtime in San Francisco is blossoming a multitude of exciting musical, cultural, sporting, educational events in neighborhoods and at venues throughout the city this year, that you won't want to miss! It's also where major freeway rehabilitation projects we've named, the Fab 4 are under construction on the U.S. 101 Bayshore (Hospital Curve), the Central I-80, on State Route -1 (19th Avenue) and the I-280 Farallones Pedestrian Overcrossing coming soon). Considering the major traffic delays and pileups these projects will cause; is why Caltrans urges all motorists to avoid the disruptions by public transportation.

What motorists can expect are lane reductions, ramp closures, and full weekend closures of major stretches of freeways for construction crews to be able to complete each project safely.

Thankfully the San Francisco-Bay Area has the best in reliable and accessible transportation, namely MUNI, BART, Caltrain, San Francisco Bay Ferry, AC Transit, and Golden Gate Transit to safely deliver you to your destination.

See the schedule of upcoming freeway closures below and then look to your nearest public transportation agency and plan ahead.

Key Upcoming Closures:

• Mar 28–29: 12-hour full closure of EB-80 for joint reconstruction.
• Apr 10–13: 55-hour closure of the EB-80 4th Street offramp for polyester concrete overlay.
• Apr 17–20: 55-hour full closure of EB-80 for polyester concrete overlay.

Hospital Curve Project Update: Building a Safer US‑101 for Neighbors & Businesses

If you’ve driven the Hospital Curve lately, you’ve probably noticed the shifting lanes, the nighttime lights, and the steady hum of construction. What you’re seeing is real progress. Caltrans District 4 is moving forward with the Fab 4 Hospital Curve project which began in October 2025 which is an effort meant not just to repair a highway, but to improve safety and strengthen the infrastructure that thousands of San Francisco residents depend on every day.

What’s Happening on the Ground

To create safe work zones, traffic lanes have been shifted in two major segments. In Segment 1—from Candlestick Park to Silver Avenue—lanes have been pushed outward toward the shoulders. Crews have already installed 7,800 feet of temporary concrete railing along both sides of the median. In Segment 3—from Cesar Chavez to 17th Street—lanes are shifted inward toward the median, with railing installation beginning February 2, 2026.

One of the most community‑friendly accomplishments so far is the removal of the old median barrier in Segment 1. Instead of breaking it apart with heavy hammers—a method that would have carried through nearby neighborhoods—crews cut the barrier into 20‑foot sections and quietly loaded them onto flatbeds. It was faster, cleaner, and far less disruptive for residents.

Rebuilding that barrier will require three 55‑hour partial closures in March (6–9, 13–16, and 20–23), during which the two fast lanes in each direction will be closed. Segments 2 and 3 will see barrier work later in the project.

Improving Drainage for a Stronger Highway

Drainage upgrades are also moving ahead. Segment 3’s drainage crossings were installed between January 20 and January 30. Shoulder drainage work is waiting on prefabricated inlets—delays caused by design revisions to better fit the corridor’s needs. In Segment 1, drainage installation began in early February in both directions.

Lastly, while this important project will lead to safer, more reliable freeway infrastructure, we realize that the path to achieving this will at times be quite noisy. Please know that we are concerned about loud disturbances and their impact on families and neighbors at night. We will do our best to keep the public informed about these nighttime disturbances so you can plan ahead and keep windows closed or use headphones to help reduce the noise. Please visit www.sfhighwayprojects.com for updates about noise levels.

Phase 1 of the 19th Avenue Rehabilitation Project Completed: A Major Milestone for the Fab 4 Program

Anyone who has recently strolled northward along 19th Avenue from Holloway, or southward from Lincoln Way may have noticed the beginnings of something remarkably smooth and finished. It's the newly refurbished parking inlets along the entire corridor, part of the 19th Avenue Rehabilitation project. The 19th Avenue project is one of the four major corridors included in Caltrans Fab 4 Rehabilitation. It reached an important milestone this year when its Phase 1, which began on December 1, 2025, completed on January 9, 2026. This first phase focused on rebuilding the 7‑foot parking strips along both the northbound and southbound shoulders of 19th Avenue, an essential step toward improving safety, drainage, and long‑term pavement durability along this heavily traveled corridor.

Because the work required closing lane 3 of 3 during daytime hours, Caltrans partnered closely with San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency to minimize traffic impacts. Parking Control Officers were deployed to key intersections to extend green lights when needed, helping to keep vehicles moving smoothly through the corridor. Thanks to this coordination, traffic delays remained manageable throughout construction.

Northbound Phase 1 work took 11 working days—from December 1 through December 15—and wrapped up on schedule. Crews then shifted to the southbound side on December 16, completing the remaining 11 working days of work by January 9. The result is a fully reconstructed set of parking inlets on both sides of the avenue, providing a stronger foundation for the major paving work to come.

In addition to the parking strip reconstruction, electrical crews completed installation of new pull boxes in the right‑hand shoulder in both directions. This work also required a daytime closure of lane 3 but was completed efficiently over a two‑week period. The next electrical task—installing loop detectors—will occur just before final paving in late spring. Because this work requires trenching across all three lanes, it will involve closing two lanes during daytime hours.

With Phase 1 now complete, no additional field work is expected until Phase 2 begins in late spring. Phase 2 will involve grinding and repaving all three lanes in both directions. This is the most impactful portion of the project, requiring daytime lane closures on two lanes and limiting work areas to two blocks at a time.

Viaduct Rehabilitation Well Underway

Since January 2026, construction on the US-101 Central Freeway and I-80 Freeway Bayshore Viaduct rehabilitation project is off to an excellent start, with critical safety improvements underway to extend the life of these key corridors. As a note, this project entails rehabilitating the bridge deck, reconstructing 50 armored joints, replacing more than 400 joint seals, and upgrading select barrier rails.

This complex project requires various lane, ramp, and full closures to safely complete the work. To prepare, the contractor has been working nightly from 9:30 p.m. to 6:00 a.m., focusing primarily on EB-80 while attending to WB-80 as needed. These efforts include chaining and patching unsound concrete on both decks to preserve structural integrity.

Key Upcoming Closures:

• Mar 28–29: 12-hour full closure of EB-80 for joint reconstruction.
• Apr 10–13: 55-hour closure of the EB-80 4th Street offramp for polyester concrete overlay.
• Apr 17–20: 55-hour full closure of EB-80 for polyester concrete overlay.

Additional work includes restriping connector merge areas on EB-80 and WB-80 on Saturday nights to minimize conflicts with other projects. Starting Feb 2, crews began formwork from street level under the bridge, coordinated with Right-of-Way due to the temporary use of State-owned parking lots.

These improvements are essential to ensuring safe, effective travel through one of the region’s busiest corridors. Please plan ahead and keep informed about closures to minimize travel delays.

Setting the PACE: Public Affairs Customer Engagement Site is Now Live!

District 4 is proud to announce the launch of our new Customer Service Request (CSR) platform. PACE, the Public Affairs Customer Engagement site, provides a regularly updated breakdown of services requested and rendered across the district.

• The CSR dashboard aims to provide an overview of the responsiveness to maintenance services requested across the nine Bay Area counties.
• The data represented as month-to-date falls within a rolling 30-day Service Level Agreement (SLA) and is updated weekly.
• We strive to close 60% (or more) of all monthly service requests received via the CSR website portal.
• For more information or to leave comments/suggestions, please contact D4CSLTEAM@dot.ca.gov.
• To report a highway issue/problem, please submit a CSR ticket through the Customer Service Request Form.

SFhighwayprojects.com is where to find details about current and upcoming Caltrans projects in San Francisco.

Thank you for reading.

The San Francisco County newsletter will be distributed on a regular schedule.

For 24/7 traffic updates, please visit 511.org or https://x.com/511SFBay
For real-time information, please visit Caltrans QuickMap: https://quickmap.dot.ca.gov

CONTACT:

San Francisco County Public Information Officers
Lori Shepherd

South Bay Branch Chief
Pedro Quintana

General Information
(510) 286-4444