BART Board reaffirms contract for Oakland Airport Connector

The BART Board of Directors voted 7-1 to reaffirm its decision to authorize General Manager Dorothy Dugger to enter into a contract with the two firms the Board selected in December 2009 to design, operate and maintain the much anticipated Oakland, Calif., Airport Connector. The vote is likely the final action the Board of Directors will need to take before the agency breaks ground on the historic project, which promises in the short-term to create thousands of jobs. While in the long run, provides a world-class transit connection between the Oakland Airport and BART's Coliseum Station for millions of customers for decades to come.

All that remains is a
decision by the California Transportation Commission (CTC), which is poised to
vote on allocating $20 million in funding to the project at its September 22,
2010 meeting. Should the CTC vote in favor of allocating the money to the
project, BART’s General Manager anticipates she will sign the contract with the
two firms and the 3.5-year construction on the project will begin.

The Oakland Airport
Connector, once built, will replace the AirBART buses that often are bogged
down by Hegenberger Road traffic, Coliseum sporting events, freight trains and
accidents, all of which create great angst for anxious air travelers rushing to
make their flights.

By contrast, the connector
will be a far more relaxing ride. The Automated People Movers (APMs) will offer
swift, reliable world-class service because they will be all electric and run
on a fixed, elevated guideway above the congestion. The APMs will arrive at the
Coliseum BART Station every 4.5 minutes and will quickly transport air
travelers to the airport in 8 minutes and 12 seconds with an on-time
performance exceeding 99 percent.

The local communities have
fought in support of the OAC project for years. Through extensive public
outreach, the OAC project garnered voter approval and the support of the
elected officials at MTC, Port of Oakland, Alameda County CMA, ACTIA and the
City of Oakland. This public process has been transparent from the outset.

The $484-million project is
expected to create between 2,500 and 5,000 direct and indirect jobs during the
three and a half year construction phase, which could begin as early as late
2010.