BART To SJ One Railroad Tie Closer to Reality

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority officials broke ground this week on a project that will widen Mission Boulevard in Fremont, build new  on- and off- ramps and add a grade separation for railroad and BART tracks.
    The Mission/Warren Area improvements will widen Mission Boulevard  to six lanes between Interstate Highway 880 and Warm Springs Boulevard,  according to VTA officials.
    In addition, new on- and off-ramps to Mission will be built at  Kato Road and Warren Avenue will be lowered to separate it from Union Pacific  Railroad tracks and BART tracks planned for the area. The project will also  install two new railroad bridges, two BART bridges and one maintenance bridge  over Mission and Warren.
    The Warren Avenue grade separation will allow for a fully  separated BART extension through the area. Warren will eventually also get  new pedestrian sidewalks and striped bike lanes.
    "These important improvements in Fremont will benefit the  community by expanding mobility in Alameda County, improving transportation  infrastructure and preparing the current railroad corridor for BART Silicon  Valley," said Santa Clara County Supervisor and VTA Board Chairman Ken  Yeager.
    The $151 million Mission/Warren project is jointly funded by the  city of Fremont, Alameda County Transportation Commission, Caltrans and VTA,  and is slated for completion in 2015, officials said.
    BART broke ground in April on the first 10-mile segment of a  planned 16-mile extension from Fremont to Milpitas, San Jose and Santa Clara.  The 10-mile extension, a $2.3 billion project, is expected to go into service  before 2018, according to the VTA.
    The second phase of the extension project, which includes a  5.1-mile subway tunnel through downtown San Jose, ending near the Santa Clara  Caltrain Station, is expected to cost $3.6 billion.
    The project is the largest public works project in the county's  history, according to the VTA.