BART shifts westbound I-580 lanes for new station construction
Following last week's postponement, on the evenings of Monday, July 30 and Tuesday, July 31, BART crews hope to finish all the lane shifting work in the westbound direction that they need to do in order to begin construction of the highly-anticipated BART station and transit village in West Dublin/Pleasanton, which will have 1,200 parking spots, a world-class hotel, housing, retail and office space. BART previously postponed the lane shifting to work out logistical issues with Caltrans.
Beginning with the Tuesday morning commute, drivers will notice that crews have shifted the lanes of westbound I-580 to the right between the I-680 and Foothill Road/San Ramon Road exits. BART is urging motorists to pay extra attention when passing through the area. This new lane configuration will remain this way until BART finishes building the yet-to-be named station at West Dublin/Pleasanton.
NIGHT RAMP CLOSURES
As a result of the lane shifts, crews will close both the north and southbound I-680 ramps onto westbound I-580 from approximately 8 pm until 4 am each night. There will be signage in the area clearly showing drivers the short detours. BART encourages motorists passing through the area to give themselves extra time.
North & Southbound I-680 ramps to Westbound I-580 closed:
Approx. 8 p.m. Monday, July 30 to 4 a.m. Tuesday, July 31
Approx 8 p.m. Tuesday, July 31 to 4 a.m. Wednesday, August 1
PURPOSE OF LANE RECONFIGURATION
The ultimate goal of the lane shifting work is to widen the inner shoulder of I-580 so construction crews will have more room to build the new station in the middle of the freeway.
In mid-June, crews first shifted the lanes in both the westbound and eastbound directions of I-580 to the left and made them slightly narrower.
The shift to the left allowed crews to strengthen the outer shoulder to handle automobile traffic.
Now that the outer shoulders are strong enough to handle traffic, crews will begin shifting the westbound lanes back to the right tonight to make more room on the inner shoulder so construction crews can use the extra room to store the equipment and machines they'll need to build the new station.
As for the eastbound side of the freeway, crews have almost completed their work to strengthening the outer shoulders. Once that's done, crews will shift the eastbound lanes back to the right to make room on the inner shoulder to store the equipment and machines they'll need to build the new station.
GROUND BREAKING ON NEW "SMART GROWTH" STATION LAST FALL
BART and its project partners broke ground on the historic new station in September 2006.
This yet-to-be-named station will be the first in the BART system to be built with "smart growth" already incorporated into the design. The smart growth around the new station will include 1,200 parking spaces, 210 housing units, office space and a hotel. The station will be located in the median of I-580, between the Castro Valley and Dublin/Pleasanton stations where there is currently a 10-mile gap.
BART expects weekday ridership of about 6,000 passengers the year the station opens and 8,500 riders by 2013. (See a story on the West Dublin/Pleasanton groundbreaking on BARTtv News at www.bart.gov/barttvnews) BART hopes to open the station in 2009.
BART currently has 43 stations. This new station in West Dublin/Pleasanton will be BART's 44th station.