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http://www.eastbaytimes.com/breaking-news/ci_30128772/richmond-san-rafael-third-lane-plan-goes-caltrans
Richmond-San Rafael third lane plan goes to Caltrans; work could start in October
July 14, 2016
A final design to open a third eastbound lane on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge to ease traffic went to Caltrans Wednesday, clearing the way for a projected December 2017 opening.
In the coming years the bridge will undergo major changes with the addition of a third vehicle travel lane on its lower deck and a bike lane on top. The two projects have a $74 million price tag.
The Bay Area Toll Authority's Oversight Committee met Wednesday and heard an update on the planned work.
"We have successfully completed the final design of the third lane," Chris Lillie, project manager for the toll authority, told the committee.
The Richmond-San Rafael Bridge is seen from Richmond, Calif., on Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015. (Kristopher Skinner/Bay Area News Group)
A contract for the project could be awarded as soon as September, with construction starting in October. But issues with moving utilities could cause delays, Lillie cautioned.
While opening the lane may sound simple, officials note a state and federal rules environmental analysis is required. In addition, new signs will have to go on the span and a retaining wall on the Contra Costa side must be set back to create added space for cars heading off the span.
The added eastbound car lane would likely be open only during commute hours, allowing Caltrans to retain a shoulder for maintenance work during other times of the day.
Other project elements in Marin include reconfiguring the Main Street onramp from the San Quentin Village area with a retaining wall to improve the traffic merge with the new lane, and replacing pavement on the bridge approaches to accommodate heavier traffic loads, according to officials.
The slowdown around the span in recent years causes traffic to back up onto northbound Highway 101 and on eastbound Interstate 580 in Marin. Opening a third lane could help ease that congestion, transportation officials said.
The traffic to the bridge has had a ripple effect. The northbound commute from 3:30 to 7:10 p.m. on Highway 101 from Marin City to north of Tamalpais Drive in Corte Madera has been ranked as 15th worst in the Bay Area. Drivers in that pocket lose 2,040 hours a day in traffic, according to Metropolitan Transportation Commission figures.
A second bridge project would bring a 10-foot-wide lane on the north side of the roadway on the top deck of the span. Bicyclists and pedestrians traveling east and west would use the space that would be separated from car traffic by a movable median barrier. It would open in March 2018 under the current plan. A movable barrier is needed to allow Caltrans to perform maintenance work on the span.
The Association of Bay Area Governments is keen on finishing the Bay Trail -- a ring around the bay -- and wants to use the bridge to help complete the project.
The project is also of importance to the Marin County Bicycle Coalition, which has been advocating for it since the organization was founded in 1998.
The bridge initially had three lanes when it opened in 1956, but when drought hit in 1977 a lane on the top deck was closed so a pipeline could be laid across the span to bring water to Marin. When the pipeline was removed in 1978, the top and lower deck lanes were converted to shoulders because of light traffic.
The Richmond-San Rafael is the third least-used of the Bay Area spans, ahead only of the Dumbarton and Antioch bridges. But over the last five years, traffic has increased about 13 percent as the economy has rebounded.
The price tag for the lane is $30 million. The bike path is $29 million, and there is a $15 million contingency. Once built, the new configurations would be deemed a four-year pilot project and would be analyzed after that time.
Assemblyman Marc Levine, D-San Rafael, has introduced legislation to speed the opening of a third lane, but has gotten little traction from Caltrans or the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.
"This may be speedy for government, but it doesn't help the commuters who are stuck in traffic right now," he said. "We could open this as soon as next week." ------ (c)2016 The Marin Independent Journal (Novato, Calif.) Visit The Marin Independent Journal (Novato, Calif.) at www.marinij.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. AMX-2016-07-13T23:19:00-04:00 |
