The Pipes Under Geary Are Finished. What Happens on the Street Next?

On Oct. 9, 2026, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission updated its Geary project page to say its water and sewer replacement between 32nd Avenue and Stanyan Street is 100% complete, with the contractor gone and every piece of equipment removed. That same page still lists the construction end date as Fall 2027. Compared against that published forecast, the digging under Geary wrapped up roughly a year early.

Geary's street project continues above ground. The changes that will affect how you cross Geary, catch the 38 or get to dinner are the ones that start now. Those changes land at specific corners, and the city has already published the list.

A year of digging under 120-year-old pipe

Most of the water and sewer infrastructure the SFPUC replaced dated to the late 1800s, when it went in to serve the early Richmond District. The project rehabilitated or replaced about 1.4 miles of sewer mains and 6.7 miles of water mains, working in two segments: 32nd Avenue to 12th Avenue, then 12th Avenue to Stanyan. Crews started in January 2025.

The pace picked up toward the end. An SFPUC-sponsored update in the Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon on Sept. 5, 2026, put the work at 80% complete and "ahead of schedule," and said the full project was on track for Spring 2027. Five weeks later the utility work was finished.

The SFPUC calls this a "dig once" approach. It times pipe replacement to come right before the SFMTA's surface improvements, so the same blocks aren't opened twice. Final repaving by SF Public Works comes after all of it. The early finish means the handoff to the surface crews happens now and won't wait until next year.

The surface phase starts this fall

The SFMTA's Geary Boulevard Improvement Project page says the agency is preparing to start construction this fall and will begin regular construction updates later in the season. Its timeline runs the transit and safety work from late 2026 to early 2028, along Geary from Stanyan to 34th Avenue.

The contract went through the Public Works Commission on July 23, 2026. The recommended contractor was Esquivel Grading and Paving, Inc., at $17,591,275 with a $1,759,127 contingency and a 450-calendar-day schedule. The scope covers bulbs, medians, signals, accessible curb ramps and repaving. At 450 days, the work fits the window from this fall into early 2028.

No published schedule yet says which block goes first or when work happens at night. Your clearest map of where crews will be is the design itself.

The corners getting rebuilt

The SFMTA's design overview names the corners. Bus bulbs extend the sidewalk out to the bus lane so the 38 can board without pulling over. Pedestrian bulbs shorten the crossing distance.

The work clusters at a few intersections. 6th Avenue and 25th Avenue each get bus bulbs and pedestrian bulbs together, so those two will likely see the most concrete work on a single corner. At 4th Avenue, every corner gets a bulb. In the Outer Richmond, 27th through 30th get new curb extensions on four straight blocks. In a 2025 update, the SFMTA counted 23 pedestrian bulbs, nine transit bulbs and 23 median refuges across the project. New street trees and decorative sidewalk designs picked with neighbor input are part of the same package.

If you park on Geary, the permanent changes already happened. The SFMTA's FAQ says almost all of the project's parking changes went in with the 2023 Quick-Build, and the net loss is 31 spaces once added cross-street spaces are counted. Expect temporary restrictions around active work zones. The curb layout you know today is mostly the curb layout you'll keep.

The storefronts that changed while the street was open

While the pipes went in, Geary's storefronts were turning over too. The changes hit both ends of the corridor in the same few weeks.

On the closing side:

• Pacific Cafe, 7000 Geary Blvd. near 34th Avenue, served its last meal on Aug. 30 after more than 50 years, with long lines in its final days, Mission Local reported.
• My Tofu House, 4627 Geary Blvd., ended service on Aug. 3 after nearly 25 years, according to the Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon.
• Topogato, the chocolatier at 5203 Geary Blvd., quietly closed in September, Mission Local noted, citing the San Francisco Standard.
• Noodle in a Haystack, at 10th Avenue and Geary, closed in May so its owners could focus on a fast-casual restaurant in Mission Bay.

On the opening side:

• HI NRG opened its brick-and-mortar café at 5801 Geary Blvd. in September with coffee, music and wine, and announced a grand opening for Sept. 23, per Mission Local.
• TF Restaurant is back at 4142 Geary Blvd. in the former LH Restaurant space after a hiatus, and appeared open in October, according to Mission Local.
• Casito is the name city records show for a possible new business at 4601 Geary Blvd., in the former Noodle in a Haystack space. No opening date has been announced.

Pacific Cafe sits right at the western end of the SFMTA project, which stops at 34th Avenue. Casito's space at 10th Avenue is two blocks from the planned bulbs at 12th. Any operator moving into a Geary storefront this winter opens during the surface phase. For a look at how the next major corridor north handled its own turnover this year, see our earlier piece on what's new on Clement Street.

What the city has done for Geary merchants

The last round of Geary construction left behind a set of merchant programs, and they show where neighbors can help. The SFMTA's nine-member merchant working group met five times and steered project funds into a "Central Richmond: Everything You Need" campaign. That ran 1,000 interior bus ads citywide and gave 24 photographed businesses digital images they could use. Merchant input also changed the loading-zone hours outside Ms. Marian's Dance Garden. In December 2024, a separate SFMTA-funded holiday lighting effort served 28 businesses, with the Greater Geary Boulevard Merchants Association helping design the window-or-tree option and spread the word.

The SFPUC and SFGovTV filmed more than 45 Geary merchants for a shop-local video series. The city's Shop Dine Geary Blvd page collects those videos by cross street, with spots like Dragon Beaux at 21st, Studio Sumi at 15th, Pancho's at Stanyan and Teawood Café at 4th. Teawood Café sits at 4th, where all four corners are getting bulbs, so it's a good one to keep on your list while crews work there.

You can get notices on your phone before crews show up on your block. The SFMTA offers email and text updates for the project. Questions go to [email protected] or 415.646.2300. For more on the district beyond Geary, our Richmond neighborhood page is a good starting point.

If you own a home or building near one of the corners on that list and want to talk about what street work running into early 2028 could mean for your timing, Michelle Pender follows the Richmond block by block. Request a private consultation and we'll go through your corner of Geary together.