Project Index

• I-580 Tri-Valley Rapid Transit Corridor Improvements
• I-880 North Safety Improvements
• Regional Express Bus Improvements (San Mateo, Dumbarton & Bay Bridges)
• East Bay SMART Corridors Program
• I-680 Smart Carpool Lane
• solutionsonsunol

Regional Measure 2 Projects

Regional Measure 2 (RM2), approved by Bay Area voters in March 2004, increased the tolls on State owned bridges to $3. The legislation is expected to generate $3 billion over 35 years. These revenues are dedicated to specific transportation capital projects and operating funds for selected transit operators. RM2 includes several elements that identify the CMA as the sponsor or co-sponsor.

1. I-580 Tri-Valley Rapid Transit Corridor Improvements
   
   Congestion during the morning and afternoon peak periods in the I-580 Corridor in eastern Alameda County rank among the most congested corridors in the Bay Area. Eastbound travel during the afternoon peak period is the third most congested corridor. The corridor accounted for 11,010 vehicle hours of daily delay in 2003. Congestion is expected to increase without additional investment in the corridor.
   
   I-580 is a vital link between the Port of Oakland, the Bay Area and the rest of the nation. The corridor is the primary gateway for nearly 20%, or $81 billion, of the Bay Area’s domestic trade flow. I-580 also serves as a major farm-to-market corridor, linking the Central Valley to the Bay Area.
   
   The corridor improvements include the addition of eastbound and westbound high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes in the corridor from Greenville Road in Livermore to I-680 in Dublin/Pleasanton. Adding HOV lanes will reduce congestion and delay, and will encourage an increase in both carpooling and express bus service. The project would provide a bus connection to the existing BART station. The HOV Project Study Report prepared by Caltrans indicates that travel time savings for carpools would range from 16 to 22 minutes. The corridor improvements include the following components: Intelligent Transportation System, Traffic Operation System; high occupancy vehicle lanes, auxiliary lanes and modifications at the I-580/I-680 interchange. Regional Measure 2 funds will be used to complete Phase 1 of the project, including the design and construction of the eastbound HOV lane and preliminary studies on subsequent stages of the overall corridor improvements. RM2, AB 1171, STIP, ITIP, Tri-Valley Transportation Development Fees and Federal Earmark funds are identified sources to fund the corridor improvements.
   
   I-580 HOV Lane Project, Phase 1
   
   Final design for the eastbound HOV lane is expected to complete in Spring of 2007.
   
   I-580 / I-680 HOV Direct Connector PSR/PDS

   The CMA is partnering with Caltrans in the development of a Project Study Report (PSR) for the I-580/I-680 Interchange Modification Project. Caltrans will be the lead agency responsible for the preparation of the PSR, supplemented by a CMA consultant support services team as necessary to maintain an expedited delivery schedule. The PSR will evaluate options to address key commute movements currently experiencing significant congestion and will identify alternatives for further evaluation, including feasible options for direct connector structures for two critical commute movements: 1) westbound I-580 HOV to southbound I-680 HOV, and 2) northbound I-680 HOV to eastbound I-580 HOV. The PSR will also evaluate ultimate HOV movements and update the master buildout plan for the I-580/I-680 interchange. The PSR is anticipated to be completed in 2007. This project is being developed as an element of the RM2 I-580 Corridor Project.

2. I-880 North Safety Improvements
   
   

   Click on picture to enlarge

   
   This project will provide operational and safety improvements to northbound I-880 at 29th Avenue by reconfiguring the on- and off-ramps, as well as mitigating noise impacts of the project.
   
   The northbound I-880 off-ramp at 29th Avenue is short and does not meet current design standard. This results in a queue spillback, which causes sudden speed changes on the mainline, in turn creating slowdown and congestion on the mainline. The project will provide additional storage and deceleration distances to the off-ramp. This will eliminate or minimize the queue spillback and resultant speed changes on the mainline, thereby improving operations and safety. Soundwalls will reduce noise impacts to the Jingletown neighborhood.
   
   Work includes the modification and lengthening of an existing northbound off-ramp, relocation of the Lisbon Avenue on-ramp, modification of local streets, landscape enhancement, and construction of a soundwall to protect sensitive receptors as mitigation for the project.
   
   
3. Regional Express Bus Improvements (San Mateo, Dumbarton & Bay Bridges)
   
   SR 84 HOV Lane Extension
   
   This project will reduce the delay to carpoolers and buses approaching the start of the westbound Route 84 HOV lane at Newark Boulevard during the morning commute.
   
   The existing westbound HOV lane on Route 84 begins at the Newark Boulevard overcrossing and ends just west of the Dumbarton Bridge toll plaza. There is a distance of approximately 1 mile between Newark Boulevard and I-880 where buses and carpoolers are queued up with mixed flow vehicles before they can reach the existing HOV lane. This project will allow buses and carpoolers to bypass the congestion to reach the HOV lane at the Dumbarton Bridge Toll Plaza and reduce the delay experienced.
   
   The project will extend the westbound HOV lane on Route 84 from Newark Boulevard to I-880. This will be accomplished by widening in the median area, adding a concrete barrier and realigning the freeway. The project will modify the southbound I-880 off-ramp to provide an HOV bypass through the southbound I-880 off-ramp / Route 84 interchange to connect to the extended westbound HOV lane.
   
   SR 84 HOV Direct Connector
   
   This project will reduce the delay to buses and carpoolers entering the Route 84 westbound HOV lane from Newark Boulevard during the morning peak commute.
   
   Currently, buses and carpoolers entering westbound Route 84 from Newark Boulevard must cross two mixed-flow lanes to access the existing HOV lane. Congestion in the mixed-flow lanes resulting from the back up at the Dumbarton Bridge Toll Plaza leads to delays for buses and carpoolers. The project will provide a direct connection from Newark Boulevard to the existing HOV lane and allow buses and carpoolers to bypass the congestion to eliminate the delay.
   
   The project provides for the construction of a 1500 foot HOV on-ramp with standard shoulders on westbound Route 84 to connect Newark Boulevard to the existing HOV lane on Route 84. The work will include the construction of soil-nailed retaining walls and the widening of an existing bridge crossing over UPRR tracks.
   
   Ardenwood Park & Ride
   
   This project will promote the use of Transbay transit services by providing additional parking spaces for transit passengers.
   
   AC Transit operates a number of Transbay express bus services. While there is significant demand for the services, its capacity is restricted by the limited number of buses and the lack of sufficient parking spaces for commuters.
   
   This project provides for the acquisition of a 3 acre site near the Route 84 / Ardenwood Boulevard interchange in Fremont to expand an existing park-and-ride lot already operating at capacity. The expansion is expected to provide over 300 new parking stalls for commuters and will include the necessary roadway improvements to provide for ingress/egress. Additional improvements include bicycle facilities, landscaping, emergency call phones and parking lot lighting.
   
   West Grand Avenue Transit Enhancements
   
   The CMA and AC Transit are joint sponsors of the Regional Express Bus program funded by Regional Measure 2. Components of this program include a future HOV on-ramp to I-880 from Maritime Street and various operational and transit enhancements in the local area street network. One component of this project is transit enhancements along the West Grand Avenue Corridor. This project includes transit operations analysis and design and construction of various traffic signal modifications along the corridor. The proposed project will reduce delays to buses accessing the Bay Bridge using the MacArthur Boulevard/Grand Avenue corridor and the I-880/Maritime-Grand on-ramp.
   
   AC Transit operates a number of Transbay Express bus services. A number of these buses go through the MacArthur Boulevard/Grand Avenue/West Grand Avenue corridor between the I-880/Bay Bridge ramp and 73rd Avenue in Oakland. Currently, buses from AC Transit experience delays at various intersections along this corridor. In addition, buses and carpoolers using the Maritime Street on-ramp to gain access to the Bay Bridge Toll Plaza HOV have to merge with the I-880 northbound mainline and travel 2,000 feet before the HOV lane begins. This traffic is frequently stuck behind traffic in the mixed flow lanes on West Grand Avenue during the morning commute hours. Traffic in the car pool lane is again impacted by the mixed flow lanes at the on-ramp merge from two lanes into one lane which is in turn slowed by ramp metering at the toll plaza.
   
   This project will provide transit system engineering analysis, traffic signal modification, signal retiming, interconnect and intersection improvements along the MacArthur/Grand/West Grand corridor. It will also include operational evaluation and modification of the existing Maritime Street on-ramp bridge to permit a new lane to be used exclusively as an HOV from Maritime Street/West Grand Avenue intersection to the I-880 northbound connector.

East Bay SMART Corridors Program

The $35 million program applies a combination of Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) and traffic engineering improvements to enhance the travel experience along the corridors. AC Transit and Alameda County CMA have embarked upon deployment of another Rapid Bus corridor which is 18-miles long connecting Bay Fair Mall in San Leandro and University of California in Berkeley.

The overall goal of the East Bay SMART Corridors Program is to improve transportation safety, efficiency, and regional mobility while providing real-time information to agencies and the public. This multi county program focuses on traffic management along various heavily traveled East Bay corridors, and extends through more than a dozen jurisdictions in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Alameda County CMA is the lead agency.

I-680 Smart Carpool Lane

I-680 Feasibility Study

To address delays along the I-680 Sunol Grade, the CMA Board has authorized a demonstration project to include adding a Smart Carpool Lane feature to the standard southbound HOV lane construction. This 14-mile stretch between State Routes 84 and 237 is considered one of the worst commutes in the Bay Area. These lanes will offer motorists the choice of paying a fee to use a faster-moving lane, thereby reducing their time in traffic.

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