Getting to certain parts of San Francisco is going to be trickier this weekend because Doyle Drive will be closed from 8 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday.

Crews need the time to demolish parts of the 70-year-old, 1.5-mile-long link from the Golden Gate Bridge to the city’s Marina District and to allow traffic to be shifted to a temporary bypass. The new $1.1 billion Presidio Parkway is replacing Doyle Drive.

Officials leading the Doyle Drive/Presidio Parkway project are warning drivers can expect major delays crossing the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco. Instead of getting a choice of Doyle Drive, most drivers will be funneled down Park Presidio Boulevard, which takes you south into the city where you hit stoplights every block. You also can take Merchant Road just south of the bridge’s toll gate and make your way through the Presidio to the Marina District, but you really should know your way around the Presidio before trying that.

Instead of using the Golden Gate, officials are recommending drivers from the North Bay consider getting to San Francisco via the Bay Bridge from Oakland or perhaps even taking Golden Gate Transit ferries from Larkspur or Sausalito to downtown San Francisco. Ferry service is being increased during the weekend.

To demolish Doyle Drive in a weekend, crews will use 40 demolition hammers, some from around the country, to crush, hammer and chip away the old road 24/7. The crews will demolish parts of Doyle Drive that are in the way of the temporary bypass. After that’s completed, the crews will spend several months taking down the rest of Doyle Drive.

The Bay Area’s 511 traveler information service will offer traffic updates online. CLICK HERE for that.

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A recent photo from presidioparkway.org shows the Presidio Parkway in San Francisco under construction alongside Doyle Drive just south of the Golden Gate Bridge.

 

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