BART Construction Starts on I-680

By Bay City News Service

The first major roadway construction in San Jose on a planned 10-mile BART extension started today near Interstate Highway 680, a transit spokeswoman said.

Workers are removing a median on Hostetter Road in north San Jose to divert traffic in order to dig a trench to allow BART trains to pass beneath the roadway, said Bernice Alaniz, a spokeswoman for the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority.

When the median is removed by tonight or Tuesday, traffic on Hostetter will be reduced from three lanes to two in both directions between Lundy and Flickinger avenues, Alaniz said.

The digging for the train underpass will take place below the roadway, starting on the north side of Hostetter and then the south side, over the next seven to nine months, and will result in some traffic delays, Alaniz said.

When completed, Hostetter will become a bridge over the below-street route where BART trains will pass by, Alaniz said.

"Motorists won't notice they are on a bridge," Alaniz said. "They'll feel like they are driving on a regular roadway."

A bicycle lane and pedestrian access will be maintained as well while construction crews work in shifts from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and Sundays if necessary.

The construction is part of the first phase of a 10-mile, $1.8 billion BART extension from Fremont to planned BART stations in Milpitas and Berryessa in north San Jose.

The VTA, which has a development contract with BART to build the extension, will eventually complete 11 grade separation projects like the one planned for Hostetter Road, Alaniz said.

Trains to the Milpitas and Berryessa stations are set to be ready for test runs by 2016, and the debut for ticketed passengers is expected sometime in 2017.

After the 10-mile extension is completed, VTA and BART hope to eventually build a 6-mile, $4 billion second phase that would include a 5.1-mile subway tunnel to link downtown San Jose to a BART station in Santa Clara.

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