K Ingleside Quick-Build Project Starts This Weekend

This weekend, San Francisco Public Works crews will start building temporary transit boarding island extensions along Ocean Avenue as part of the K Ingleside Rapid Project that will double the capacity of the K-rail line.

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency said crews will begin work on temporary boarding island extensions on Aug. 10, starting with the transit stops at Ocean and Aptos avenues in advance of students returning to school at Aptos Middle School on Aug. 19. The construction will last through Aug. 18 and take place from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day.

“This will minimize disruption to these busy stops near Aptos Middle School while school is in session and allow students to enjoy the safety and comfort improvements of longer, wider boarding islands sooner,” SFMTA spokesperson Michael Roccaforte said.

While the Ocean and Aptos avenues transit stops are under construction, K passengers can board at Ocean Avenue and Westgate Drive and Ocean and Cerritos avenues.

During the closure of the Twin Peaks Tunnel, from Aug. 22-29, Roccaforte said crews will work on the outbound stops, first at Ocean Avenue and San Leandro Way and then Ocean Avenue and Victoria Street. The SFMTA said they will have a temporary stop nearby when those transit stops are under construction.

Roccaforte said the agency will look for another opportunity to construct the final outbound stop slated for boarding island extension at Ocean and Miramar avenues so that they can begin two-car train service on the K in the outbound direction. Sometime in the fall, he added that crews work on the remaining inbound stops and other quick-build improvements.

The K has been restricted to operating as a one-car train despite being two because some of the current boarding islands on the street do not support the entire length of the train. This has caused delays at West Portal Station in the outbound direction as operators have to check on the second-car train to ensure passengers are not inside before leaving the station, transit officials have previously said.

Before and during construction, there will be parking and traffic impacts. The SFMTA said the planned permanent removal of parking spaces near the extended transit boarding islands will be removed in advance of the start of construction.

Ocean Avenue will be limited to one traffic lane in the direction of the affected block while each transit island is under construction.

The temporary boarding island extensions will eventually be replaced with permanent concrete islands as part of the capital construction phase of the project that will begin in 2027. Other parts of the project, which the SFMTA board approved in March, include transit lanes, turn restrictions and pedestrian safety improvements.