Muni’s Third Street Rail project has had a devastating impact on communities in southeast San Francisco, and now it appears that ratepayers and taxpayers will pay the price of the environmental cleanup. Up and down Third Street, black businesses have closed because of the endless construction mess—three years and counting—and Muni has not met its minority and women hiring and contracting goals. And in 2001, faulty construction of a city electrical conduit across Islais Creek resulted in a horrific spill as sinkholes opened up and millions of gallons of sewage poured into Islais Creek and Muwkema Ohlone Park. Previous coverage

Three years later, it turns out the repairs, which further demolished the park, were as shoddy as the original construction, and the 10-foot sewage main is leaking again. Muni and CCSF electrical lines have already been loaded into the replacement conduit, which has been compressed into an egg shape and flooded. As PG&E and various factions of city bureaucracy discuss the project, local residents and the Community First Coalition of Bayview Hunters Point are asking tough questions. Report | More coverage and photos from the SF Bay View