Major BART construction begins at Hostetter Road

Written by Jenifer Nunez, assistant editor

Major construction activity for the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Silicon Valley Berryessa Extension Project in California began this week in San Jose, where Hostetter Road intersects the future BART corridor.

Outside of the future Berryessa Station area, this is the first major construction activity in San Jose for this project.

The 10-mile project features 11 fully grade-separated intersections. At Hostetter Road, the future BART tracks will be lowered in a trench so trains can pass beneath the current street-level roadway, separating BART trains from vehicle, cyclist and pedestrian traffic. The grade separations on this project enhance safety overall at all major intersections along the future BART Silicon Valley system, further reducing traffic congestion due to the elimination of train crossings.

Construction will take place between Lundy Avenue and Flickinger Avenue on Hostetter Road, starting with a temporary lane shift and reduction in traffic lanes from three to two lanes in both directions. This lane reduction and shift in traffic will facilitate construction on one-half of the new bridge while maintaining traffic flow simultaneously. Crews will begin to dig the trench for future BART trains below Hostetter Road and relocate existing utilities in the area. Work will last approximately seven to nine months.

Traffic lanes will be shifted a second time to construct the second half of the new bridge. The end result will be a new Hostetter Road bridge at street-level, wide enough to accommodate bicycle lanes, sidewalks and three lanes of traffic in each direction.

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