BART announced plans to proceed with a construction project near the transit agency’s Orinda station that will require a suspension of weekend service between the Lafayette and Rockridge stations through July.
BART expects to begin the project May 9 and 10 and continue work on weekends through July 4 and 5. The agency is replacing track components like rock ballast, track switches, wooden ties and rails along the line, many of which date back to when BART first started serving Contra Costa County in 1973.
In addition to the service closures, the project will require temporary lane closures along Highway 24 late at night and early in the morning. The closures are not expected to affect more than two lanes, according to BART.
The agency will provide a free bus bridge for passengers traveling from Lafayette to Rockridge on the scheduled work weekends. Riders can expect delays of about 20 to 25 minutes, according to BART officials.
The project has been deemed essential work during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, according to the agency.
A fraction of normal BART traffic will likely be affected by the closures and bus bridge. BART’s daily ridership has fallen as much as 94 percent since the pandemic began.
Combined Saturday and Sunday ridership has hovered around 20,000 in recent weeks.
This is like one of those “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it, did it really make a sound?” moments. I’d be willing to bet that ridership is down to practically zero.
BTW- Any information on the number of employees BART has laid-off or furloughed? There is no way they need all of them right now.
The Union and BART worked out a deal to save BART Money like canceling all Overtime, no overlaps in shifts and trains only every thirty minutes now. They have furloughed 100 people I believe total so far.
Watch out for those power lines
I heard New York is regularly disinfecting their subway cars. Has Bart started ANY type of program to keep their cars cleaner? Or will fare-paying customers be expected to wear haz-mat suits to ride it from now on. Of course, I know the homeless will still be welcome to sleep on the trains all day and night.
Who would even consider getting on a BART train now? When offices open back up I’ll bet the freeways will be gridlocked because no one is going to want to use mass transit.
I hear that many companies will downsize office space, especially in locations where the commute horrible. I have already heard that 2 people to an elevator is going to be coming. Just imagine to line to get to the elevator when that happens.
Work, meet, etc…from home will save workers the commute, and employers the rent for office space. Those skyscrapers might be the modern version of a buggy whip.
“The Union and BART worked out a deal to save BART Money like canceling all Overtime…”
How interesting, so when not during a pandemic overtime is business as usual ? ? An why not, after all, is not like managers are spending their own money.
Uh…couldn’t they have focused on this work while ridership was/is low versus waiting until businesses start to reopen and ridership increases? Poor planning!
Considering that so few people are riding BART these days, this will probably inconvenience less than a dozen people.