For the past decade, the transit center that will replace San Francisco’s Transbay Terminal has been the subject of grand plans and political controversies, struggles to stay on schedule and squabbles over costs. Next weekend, all that changes. On Aug. 12, transbay bus service will begin at the $2.16 billion Transbay Transit Center, which stretches nearly three blocks between Beale and Second streets, just south of Mission Street. East Bay commuters entering the city by bus will travel traffic-free above downtown streets from the Bay Bridge into an elevated concourse. The new station should also attract Bay Area residents and visitors who never ride a bus. For them, the lure is a 5.

Source: San Francisco’s imposing transit center ready to roll at last – San Francisco Chronicle