Part 13 – Constructing the Highway

The last update provided early progress from 1960-1962 of the majority of the clearing of the highway right-of-way and the initial construction starting at the Highway 101 interchange.  This update will review additional construction starting in 1963 with two northeast views from Feb. 18 taken southwest of the new Mission St. overpass of the highway.

L291-05-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 9496-4 , left, 9496-5, right, (Image 1 of 32)

With the new Mission St. overpass of the highway now along the left edge, this southwest view from Feb. 18, 1963 looks at Glen Park in the right foreground and runs diagonally past the City College-Balboa Park area towards the city’s southern border.

L291-10-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 9496-6, (Image 2 of 32)

The reconfiguration where the new highway meets San Jose Ave. is seen in this detail from the previous southwest view from Feb. 18, 1963. As noted in a previous update, none of this construction was related to BART.

L291-15-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 9496-6, Detail, (Image 3 of 32)

This second detail from the previous southwest view from Feb. 18, 1963 shows the new construction up to Ocean Ave., upper left corner. Soon-to-be truncated Santa Rosa Ave. still passes across the future highway on the lower right, and its replacement, the Baden St. overpass, is being placed to the southwest.

L291-20-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 9496-6, Detail, (Image 4 of 32)

This third detail from the previous southwest view from Feb. 18, 1963 provides a panoramic view of the Muni facilities on both sides of San Jose Ave. The paint shop, green arrow, is in place at Elkton yard as the Dept. of Public Works, Division of Highways, District IV continued its protracted negotiations to obtain land on its northwest side for an off-ramp. The red arrow shows where the SP San Bruno Branch had passed under San Jose Ave.

L291-25-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 9496-6, Detail, (Image 5 of 32)

This final detail from the previous southwest view from Feb. 18, 1963 is the only documentation found of the progress of excavation west of Oceanview, close to the San Francisco’s southern border. For orientation, the crossing of Alemany Blvd. and San Jose Ave. is marked by the red arrow.

L291-30-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 9496-6, Detail, (Image 6 of 32)

The last oblique view from this set of images from Feb. 18, 1963 views to the northeast showing the Alemany Blvd.-San Jose Ave. crossing along the bottom border. Details from this image follow.

L291-35-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 9496-7, (Image 7 of 32)

The new roadway over the new highway at Baden St. is seen in the top left, and the center is dominated by Balboa Park and Muni’s Elkton yard in this first detail from the previous northeast view from Feb. 18, 1963. This view confirms there was no issue fitting the highway's main lanes past the Muni paint shop, and the former SP underpass of San Jose Ave. is all that is left from the railroad days, bottom right corner.

L291-40-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 9496-7, Detail, (Image 8 of 32)

Cayuga Park’s presence in the right lower quadrant allows for identification of the intersections of Lakeview Ave., red arrow, and Farallones St., green arrow, with San Jose Ave. in this second detail from the previous northeast view from Feb. 18, 1963. The row of bulldozers has successfully wiped out the right-of-way traversed by the SP San Bruno Branch.

L291-45-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 9496-7, Detail, (Image 9 of 32)

In this final detail from the previous northeast view from Feb. 18, 1963, the abutments that will carry the new highway above Sickles Ave. are taking shape. The church at the corner of San Jose Ave. and Sagamore St. still stands, and to its right, the track of the SP branch line remains embedded in the asphalt as it crosses San Jose Ave. at Sickles Ave.

L291-50-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 9496-7, Detail, (Image 10 of 32)

Ahead to June 4, 1963, District IV updated the highway construction process starting with two east views showing extension of the road eastward from the interchange with Highway 101, left, and minor additions westward from that same location, right.

L291-55-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 9768-1, left 9768-2, right, (Image 11 of 32)

More from June 4, 1963, the left panel is an east view with the newly place Lyell St. overpass in the foreground. On the right, a west view of the progress at Glen Park, with the new section of San Jose Ave. to divert that road to the south. More details to follow from this panel.

L291-60-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 9768-3, left, 9768-4, right, (Image 12 of 32)

Another panoramic west view of the Muni facilities between Ocean Ave. and Niagara Ave. from the June 4, 1963 aerial, the main roadway fitting nicely to the northeast of the Elkton yard.

L291-65-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 9768-4, Detail, (Image 13 of 32)

Back to the Alemany Blvd.-San Jose crossing, a northeast view from June 4, 1963 now shows that an overpass of Sickles Ave. and San Jose Ave. has been placed on the abutments shown previously from that February.

L291-70-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 9768-5, (Image 14 of 32)

Now a big leap to Mar. 24, 1969, two views of downtown San Francisco. On the left, the Embarcadero Freeway, Highway 480, shown the year after its completion viewed to the south, and on the right, the progress of Highway 280 to Mariposa St. viewed to the north. A detail from the latter view follows.

L291-75-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 15655-9, (Image 15 of 32)

A detail from the north view taken on Mar. 24, 1969 shows the 18th St. overpass is in place over the latest piece of  added highway. The entrance of the SP Bayshore route under the road can be seen.

L291-80-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 15655-8, (Image 16 of 32)

To follow up the last point, this west view from Mar. 24, 1969 shows the end of the construction at Mariposa St.

L291-85-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 15655-7, (Image 17 of 32)

This detail of the west view from Mar. 24, 1969 places the the red arrow on the SP Bayshore route heading under Mariposa St., the approximate position of the north portal of the line’s northern-most tunnel in San Francisco indicated by the green arrow.

L291-90-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 15655-7, Detail, (Image 18 of 32)

Westward along the new highway, also from Mar. 24, 1969, the left panel’s east view above St. Mary’s Park footbridge over the roadway shows an operational highway, complemented on the right by the west view above the Highway 101-Highway 280 interchange.

L291-95-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 15655-5, (Image 19 of 32)

Detail of the interchange from the previous east view from Mar. 24, 1969 …

L291-100-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 15655-5, Detail, (Image 20 of 32)

… complemented by the previous west view from Mar. 24, 1969.

L291-105-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 15655-6, (Image 21 of 32)

This east view with Balboa Park seen in the right lower corner, also taken on Mar. 24, 1969, will be examined starting at the level of Glen Park in the detail that follows.

L291-110-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 15655-4, (Image 22 of 32)

This detail of the east view from Mar. 24, 1969 shows the operational highway with the on- and off-ramps from Monterey Blvd. and the reconfigured San Jose Ave. snaking under the roadway. At the limits of resolution, there appears to be an open pit where BART tracks would enter the station, red arrow, and at least some structure up from the station’s position, yellow arrow.

L291-115-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 15655-4, Detail, (Image 23 of 32)

Further southwest from the same east view from Mar. 24, 1969, the opening of the BART tunnel at Baden St. may be seen along the left top edge, with excavation of the right-of-way to the southwest in progress.

L291-120-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 15655-4, Detail, (Image 24 of 32)

This southeast view is the next one in the series from Mar. 24, 1969, bringing the construction review to the crossing of Alemany Blvd.

L291-125-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 15655-3, (Image 25 of 32)

More BART construction may be seen along the southwest edge of the completed highway, this detail from the southeast view from Mar. 24, 1969. The Balboa Park station with its high retaining walls alongside Muni is marked by the yellow arrow.

L291-130-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 15655-3, Detail, (Image 26 of 32)

An undated ground view facing southwest shows the BART excavation in progress at the station site along the Muni facility.

L291-135-Al Augustine Photo, Whittaker Coll., Courtesy BAERA, W. Railway Museum Arch., 197700Muni, (Image 27 of 32)

A final detail of the completed highway in a northeast view from Mar. 24, 1969 at the Alemany Blvd. overpass shows that the ex-SP right-of-way not included for the final highway, orange arrow, but transformed nonetheless after the road's construction. At this point in time, there is no evidence of BART construction where it would later reside on the other side of the highway.

L291-140-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 15655-3, Detail, (Image 28 of 32)

Finally the entrance into Daly City in a northeast view from Mar. 24, 1969. Note how expansive the clearing is between the highway’s east flank, to the right, this to be filled in by the BART station and parking lot. The SP terminus remained south of Knowles Ave. and may be appreciated better in the next image.

L291-145-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 15655-2, Detail, (Image 29 of 32)

This labeled rotated view with northwest along the top from Sept. 29, 1972 during construction of the BART facilities at Daly City shows a string of boxcars, orange arrow, at the terminus of the SP freight line.

L291-150-Herrington-Olson Photo, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 133176 BART, (Image 30 of 32)

A comparison showing the location of the SP terminus in 1938 and 1965, and the approximate position in 2023, colored arrows. Neither the Department of Transportation or BART would use this part of the SP right-of-way that the SP filed to abandon with the Interstate Commerce Commission in 1976.

L291-155-cas-1965-130_10-17, Courtesy of UCSB Library Geospatial Collection and Google Earth, l and r, (Image 31 of 32)

This presentation concludes with this northeast aerial from Mar. 24, 1969 that marks the entire portion of abandoned right-of-way not used by the Department of Transportation or BART. This extended from Knowles Ave., yellow arrow, to just past the southern edge of the Jefferson High School football field at the level of Dixon Ct. orange arrow, where the BART tracks would later emerge from a tunnel and straighten. The fate of this land will be revealed in an update to be presented in the future.

L291-160-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 15655-2, (Image 32 of 32)