Demolition of the 71-year-old Transbay Terminal is scheduled to begin late this year. It is expected to take eight months to tear it down and then seven years to build the glittering new Transbay Terminal.
In the meantime, a temporary terminal a block and half away will handle AC Transit's 14,000 passengers a day.
Once some high-tech details are finished, it is set to open in August.
"We'll be starting an outreach effort, hopefully starting late June and July, educating people on how to use the facility, where their stops will be," project manager Bob Beck said.
The buses will be using surface streets, mostly Folsom Street, instead of dedicated bus ramps. A bus-only lane will be added on Folsom and parking control officers will be on the street at peak times to keep traffic flowing.
"During design we did some traffic modeling and our traffic model shows it's just over two-and-a-half minutes longer to get to the Bay Bridge, so it's not really a significant impact," project spokesperson Phil Sandri said.
Currently, two bus ramps still stand over one corner of the temporary terminal. Once it opens, those ramps will be demolished, making room for the temporary terminal to expand.
Bus operators will start training in July.
The first construction contract for the new terminal will go out for bidding this summer.
