Its gone. That ugly, rickety, outdated road, snaking from the Golden Gate Bridge to San Francisco’s Marina and downtown, is no more. Friday night industrial sized jackhammers and equipment used to clear the devastation after 9/11 got to work. Under arc lights and with hovering helios sections of the road were sliced and toppled like dominoes.
By Saturday morning joggers, dog walkers and anyone interested in seeing history in the making were on the scene early. They cheered as sections of the seismically fragile road crashed down to be demolished. Caltrans, who had workers organized in twelve hour shifts, reported late Saturday that everything was on schedule. The plan is commute traffic over the Golden Gate Bridge and along the new roadway will flow smoothly beginning at 5:00 am Monday morning.
Meanwhile it was business as usual on Chrissy Field and the beach stretching from the St. Francisco Yacht Club to the Bridge. San Franciscans love to party and some chose to do that while they watched history in the making. Hot dogs and burgers were on the grill while hopeful seagulls circled overhead. Others went surfing. Monday morning a new era begins.
