Since November 2, the ferry terminal at Main Street has been a weekend stop for San Francisco riders. On weekdays, the downtown SF boats leave from Seaplane Lagoon on the west end and Harbor Bay on the south end, and both routes picked up trips in the same schedule change. Between now and summer 2027, the City of Alameda, EBMUD and Caltrans each have work underway at one of the island's other exits. Each agency posts its own calendar, but taken together they show the weekday commute shifting outward, with Bay Farm next in line for both new ferry service and new construction.
| Date | What changes | Who runs it |
|---|---|---|
| Nov. 1–30, 2026 | Weekday Short Hop between Main St. Alameda and Oakland is suspended | SF Bay Ferry |
| Nov. 2, 2026 | Weekday Oakland & Alameda boats stop calling at Main Street. Seaplane and Harbor Bay add trips | SF Bay Ferry |
| Nov. 9–28, 2026 | Sound walls go up at the Peach Street cul-de-sac staging area | EBMUD |
| Nov. 26, 2026 | No ferry service on Thanksgiving Day | SF Bay Ferry |
| Dec. 1, 2026 | Weekday Short Hop resumes | SF Bay Ferry |
| Jan. 1, 2027 | Island Drive Park & Ride closes for about six months | EBMUD |
| Jan.–June 2027 | Drilling under the San Leandro Channel | EBMUD |
| Early 2027 | Blanding Avenue reopens between Broadway and Tilden Way at the end of Stage 5B | City of Alameda |
Main Street Is a Weekend Terminal Now
SF Bay Ferry's November 2 schedule change puts it directly: weekday service between Main Street Alameda and downtown San Francisco has been discontinued. Westbound Oakland boats headed to San Francisco no longer stop at Main Street on weekdays, and eastbound boats from San Francisco to Oakland skip it too. Weekend timetables are unchanged apart from small adjustments to a few Vallejo trips, so a Saturday trip from Main Street works the same as before.
The weekday riders were sent to the two terminals at the island's edges. These are the trips the agency added on weekdays:
- Alameda Seaplane, westbound: new departures at 6:00 a.m., 5:25 p.m. and 7:50 p.m. The 8:25 p.m. trip is gone, and the 6:50 p.m. now leaves at 7:00 p.m.
- Alameda Seaplane, eastbound: new trips at 5:00 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. replace the old 7:00 p.m., and the last boat home moves from 10:30 to 10:35 p.m.
- Harbor Bay, westbound: a new 1:05 p.m. trip.
- Harbor Bay, eastbound: new trips at 12:30 p.m. and 8:10 p.m.
Those Harbor Bay additions give Bay Farm commuters a midday round trip and a later ride home. On the Seaplane route page, an adult one-way fare to downtown San Francisco is $5.10 and the discounted fare is $2.50.
The Middle of the Island Now Crosses to Oakland, Not San Francisco
The schedule change tells weekday riders going between Alameda and Oakland to use the Alameda Short Hop or the Oakland Alameda Water Shuttle. For most of November, only one of those runs on weekdays. Weekday Short Hop service between Oakland and Main St. Alameda is suspended November 1 through 30, tied to trip suspensions on the South San Francisco route, and it resumes Tuesday, December 1.
So for the rest of the month, the free water shuttle is the weekday boat to Oakland. It runs between the dock at Bohol Circle Immigrant Park at Alameda Landing and Jack London Square, Tuesday through Sunday, with no Monday service. The current timetable starts with a 7:20 a.m. departure from Alameda every day it runs. The last Alameda departure is 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 9:36 p.m. Friday through Sunday. The November 2 change did not touch the shuttle.
On the two remaining Mondays in November, the 23rd and the 30th, none of the three Alameda-to-Oakland boat options is scheduled. The Short Hop returns on Tuesday, December 1, the same weekday the shuttle's week begins.
The shuttle has a track record behind it. In a July 23, 2026 release, the City reported 251,000 passenger trips and 60,000 bicycles carried in the pilot's first 24 months, and said the service is funded and approved through June 2028. The City's water shuttle page plans six service days a week through October 2027, then Wednesday-through-Sunday service from November 2027 through June 2028, with Tuesday service depending on funding.
For the holidays, SF Bay Ferry's holiday calendar lists no service on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day or New Year's Day. Veterans Day and New Year's Eve run on regular weekday schedules.
The East End Exit Runs Through Broadway Until Early 2027
At the island's east end, the Miller-Sweeney bridge is open, but the streets leading to it have changed. Under Stage 5B of the City's Clement Avenue/Tilden Way Improvement Project, Blanding Avenue between Broadway and Tilden Way is closed, and that stage is expected to end in early 2027. The City's detour instructions:
- Drivers reach Blanding Avenue by way of Broadway. Access to Tilden Way from Pearl Street is permanently closed, and only right turns are allowed approaching Fernside Boulevard.
- Pedestrians use the eastern path on the bridge, the southern sidewalks and paths on Tilden Way, and the eastern sidewalks on Broadway. Crossings between Blanding Avenue and Fernside Boulevard stay closed until Stage 5B is finished.
- Cyclists can't use the north-side bike trail on Tilden Way. They can share the road, take the south-side shared-use path and walk their bikes on the bridge's eastern sidewalk, or reach the bridge's western sidewalk through the shopping center.
- Bridgeside Shopping Center stays open throughout, with access from Broadway.
Expect more short closures on top of that. Alameda Post reported that on November 6 and 7, lanes northwest of the roundabout were closed from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and westbound drivers coming off the Miller-Sweeney bridge were sent around the roundabout onto Fernside Boulevard. The City says closure dates are subject to change and that "No Parking" signs go up 72 hours before any work.
When the project is finished, it will add the bikeways and walkways that complete the Cross Alameda Trail from the Miller-Sweeney/Fruitvale Bridge to Seaplane Lagoon. That trail will connect the east-end bridge to the west-end ferry terminal that just gained the new commute trips.
Bay Farm Gets the Next Round of Construction
Harbor Bay picked up ferry trips in November. Starting in January, Bay Farm is also where the construction moves. EBMUD's San Leandro Channel Crossing Pipeline Project replaces the water transmission line between the main island and Bay Farm, which was installed in 1983, with about 2,100 feet of 30-inch pipe drilled roughly 100 feet below the channel. The drill's two staging areas are the Peach Street cul-de-sac near Otis Drive and the Bay Farm Park & Ride lot.
The Park & Ride lot at 300 Island Drive, next to Grandview Pavilion, closes from January 1 through about July 1, 2027. During the closure, commuter parking moves to 885A Island Drive in the Harbor Bay Landing lot, the former CVS location, starting the same day. AC Transit lists Transbay Line W as the route serving that Park & Ride. The City says project staff are coordinating with AC Transit, 511.org and private shuttle drivers, and that signs will be posted at both the closed lot and the temporary one.
EBMUD's schedule runs in phases:
- Now through November 28: temporary heavy-duty sound walls go up at the Peach Street cul-de-sac. Work is planned on Veterans Day, and no work is scheduled November 26 or 27.
- January–June 2027: drilling under the channel. Hammering in the steel casing is expected to be the loudest stage, lasting about two weeks at each staging area. The new pipe is assembled above ground along the eastern sidewalk of Island Drive. Pulling it through the bore takes about two days of continuous work, including nights and a weekend, and EBMUD says it will notify nearby residents in advance.
- Part of the first half of 2027: Island Drive drops to one northbound lane, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. EBMUD chose those hours to stay clear of the morning school commute.
- March 2027–January 2028: open-trench work on San Jose Avenue between Pearl and Peach streets, on Peach Street between San Jose Avenue and Otis Drive, on Island Drive between Doolittle Drive and Veterans Court, and on Veterans Court. The San Jose Avenue work uses rolling work zones, with temporary detours for people walking and biking.
- May 2028: expected completion, after testing, connections and final paving.
Typical work hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. For questions, EBMUD Community Affairs is at (510) 287-0544.
The Tubes, as Caltrans Last Described Them
The Posey and Webster tubes carry more traffic than any other exit, and they are part of a longer timeline. Caltrans lists its Oakland Alameda Access Project as under construction through a tentative spring 2029. Its September 11, 2026 newsletter said the nightly Webster Tube closures, Sunday through Thursday from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., were still continuing. In the same issue, the new bicycle-and-pedestrian path inside the Webster Tube had been built and was waiting on railings, the connecting paths at Mariner Square Loop were close to done, and the timing of future Posey Tube and Jackson Street off-ramp closures was still being planned. Before a late-night drive through the Webster Tube, check Caltrans' project page for the current closure schedule.
The new tube path will add a walking and biking route between Alameda's west end and Oakland. Combined with Seaplane's added trips, the water shuttle's funding through 2028 and the Cross Alameda Trail heading toward Seaplane Lagoon, the investment is concentrated at the island's edges. For another seasonal look at the island, see our four-weekend Alameda playbook from August.
A new 6:00 a.m. Seaplane departure or six months without the Bay Farm Park & Ride can change what a household needs from where it lives. If you're weighing a move on or off the island this winter and want someone who follows these timelines closely, reach out to Darlene Perry or start with a free home valuation.
