The Department of Toxic Substances Control began a cleanup project on Bayshore Boulevard Oct. 4, beginning the dramatic remaking of an industrial area into a new city neighborhood.

This crew moves almost 40,000 cubic yards of soil for one of two reasons. If the soil isn’t too badly polluted, it is dug up and cleaned on site.  More heavily polluted soil is simply moved to another location on the site and paved over. This is the soil that has high levels of lead and other heavy metals from the lock factory.

Visitacion Valley will be the center of an ambitious planning idea once the cleanup is completed. The site is bounded by Caltrain on one side and the MUNI T-line on the other. It’s really a transit planner’s dream, and the site one day will be complete with housing and open space too. See the city’s planning website for the incredible details.