Improvement projects in San Francisco have been delayed by weeks or longer due to the latest storms.
According to San Francisco Public Works, because of the series of continuous storms, delays to projects are simply unavoidable.
"You have to stop cement work during heavy rains," San Francisco Public Works spokesperson Rachel Gordon said. "If you're doing sewer work and it's heavy downpours, you can't be in there when there's going to be a lot of water rushing through there."
Gordon said major city maintenance projects where digging is involved also require other agencies and utilities. The idea is to get everyone involved to upgrade whatever infrastructure is there while the ground is already open, so rain delays complicate schedules for every group involved. With no way to stop the storms, crews simply have to adjust.
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According to public works, the costs of the delays are worked into contingency plans for each site, but the costs of some weather-related issues in the city, like damage to the Lefty O'Doul Bridge, is still being calculated and it's not yet clear who will pay.
On Bryant Street between Cesar Chavez and 26th Street Friday, massive trucks and construction equipment were in full operation. Neighbors said a sewage repair project was supposed to take a month to complete, but the storms have waterlogged that timeline.
"It's a mess, but it's OK," business owner Nizar Shehadeh said. "It's gotta be done, someway, somehow."
According to one of the workers on site, the completion of the project has been delayed by a month. Parking signs indicate it may not be wrapped up until the middle of April.
At 18th Street and Guerrero, near the heart of the Mission business district, a street resurfacing and utilities project is behind schedule by two weeks.
