THE CELEBRATION OF PRESIDIO PARKWAY’S 10th anniversary in San Francisco was marked by the unveiling of a commemorative plaque, speeches by local leaders, and a collective sense of success between public and private agencies.
House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, spoke to a crowd of other lawmakers and individuals who helped with the creation and operation of the parkway that connects to the Golden Gate Bridge.
Pelosi recounted how complex the project was because of how many agencies needed to be involved simultaneously.
“We were able to get like $300 million for this project and usually that’s the hard part, but for this project, that was the easiest part,” said Pelosi. “As you can see from 13 speakers, there were very many aspects of our community involved in this.”
The Presidio Parkway is a 1.6-mile segment of U.S. Highway 101 that replaced Doyle Drive after a series of studies by local and state agencies determined the old connection to the Golden Gate Bridge did not meet highway standards.
The parkway addressed serious seismic and structural concerns by building four tunnels and 14 bridges connecting to Highway 101. Studies began in the 1990s and construction started in 2009.
Before completion in 2015, Caltrans announced a public-private partnership that would allow a private company to invest in the parkway and assume responsibility for its completion and subsequent maintenance for 30 years. The agency had already completed phase one with $486.9 million, but needed more funds to complete the project.
Golden Link Concessionaire, jointly owned by construction company Hochtief Presidio Holding and infrastructure investment firm Meridiam, invested $365 million to help complete the project and now assumes the continued maintenance of it. It does not own the roadway, rather Golden Link Concessionaire has a 30-year lease with Caltrans and the San Francisco County Transit Authority.
Caltrans District 4 spokesperson Bart Ney spoke about what makes a parkway unique and why the department chose it to replace Doyle Drive. He said the need to update the seismic integrity around toll bridges was a big priority and finding a partner in Meridiam, which would help foot the bill and create an environmentally friendly space, made a lot of sense.
“A parkway is basically using unused space near a transportation system for park area. And so, you could actually appreciate the incredible views that were here. You couldn’t really do that back in the days of Doyle Drive,” said Ney. “In this case, when we had a project that needed to get done and we needed to get funding together quickly for it and kept a plan all the way through, it was great to have Meridiam.”
Ney said Caltrans would be excited for future public-private partnerships, but specified not every project is suitable for such an endeavor. He said infrastructure is a long-term investment, and it’s important to evaluate each situation on a case-by-case basis.
Peter van der Waart van Gulik, Meridiam executive director for the West Coast, spoke about what he sees as a unique partnership between Meridiam and California. He said the firm’s investment should be seen as a tool for public agencies to extend the capacity to deliver projects more quickly, more cost-efficiently, and on schedule if they may be short of funding.
“A big difference with a traditionally delivered project, if those get delayed, or there is a significant financial claim, the contractor often has a tendency to stop until they get paid,” said van der Waart van Gulik. “Whereas a public-private partnership, because of the lenders that are putting money into the project, it’s like the mortgage payment on your house. You don’t want to be late on paying your mortgage, regardless of what issues you have personally. So, there’s more motivation and more effort that goes into trying to recover, whether it’s a schedule delay or commercial.”
‘A perfect example’
For van der Waart van Gulik, it made sense to bid to become partners on the Presidio Parkway. For him, the large infrastructure portfolio Meridiam has should convince a skeptical public about the success and dedication for environmental and social good by the company. He said Meridiam is a public benefit corporation, with a business model to balance financial dividends with social impact via investments that span generations.
“We’re very selective which projects we invest in,” said van der Waart van Gulik. “This is a perfect example. If this was just a highway, it would probably not have been a suitable investment for us. But because it brought these two parks together, enabled these very tunnels, and it replaced an unsafe structure. Those are aspects I think we measure before we select to invest in it.”
Leading up to the unveiling of a commemorative plaque for the Presidio Parkway by San Francisco County Transportation Authority Executive Director Tilly Chang, local leaders took to the stage to speak about their appreciation for the new structure.
State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, said the project was a shining contradiction to the idea that government cannot work efficiently without sacrificing excellence.
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said his administration will be inspired by the collaboration between the public and private sectors to get projects completed.
San Francisco Supervisor Myrna Melgar recalled how special the park was for her family. She said her family would practice with their Brazilian dance group on a regular basis in the newly constructed park facilities.
The Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy was presented a $20,000 check by Golden Link Concessionaire CEO Brandon Yee with the intention that it goes to community outreach programs that serve young people.
Deputy CEO of the parks conservancy Michele Gee said she hoped more young people and members of the public
While speaking, San Francisco’s famous parrots flew above the park, where an elementary school field trip had children playing on red chairs. The parks of the Presidio Parkway were alive with kids playing and families eating at nearby food trucks, all while fog rolled through the Golden Gate.
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