New Push for San Francisco Seawall

The City of San Francisco is asking the state to help fund what would be an estimated $5 billion project to protect the Embarcadero Seawall, a weakening structure built more than a century ago along the city’s waterfront.

The structure is considered vital for holding back rising sea levels and potentially devastating flooding during a major earthquake.

“The San Francisco Seawall is our last defense against the rising sea levels brought on by climate change and if we do not act now, our city will feel the impact for generations to come,” Mayor Mark Farrell told reporters at Pier 14 two day ago, flanked by other local and state leaders.

The event was held to announce a bill that would provide $250 million in state funding to strengthen the seawall through seismic and flood protection upgrades, a project that would be one of the biggest in city history and would not be completed until 2026.

The city itself has already announced a proposed $350-500 million bond to fund the upgrades which voters would first have to approve in November.

The project is currently in the planning and study phase, and leaders still foresee funding shortfalls. But once it gets going, the Corps of Engineers is expected to have a role in rebuilding the seawall.