The Highway 4 Project hit another milestone this week with the opening of two new lanes of traffic on westbound Highway 4, starting just after the Lone Tree Way/A Street undercrossing. Commuters can now travel along four lanes of highway, including a High Occupancy Vehicle lane. The project also includes newly configured on- and off-ramps from the highway to local roads.

See diagrams of the new lane segments on the Contra Loma Boulevard segment web page.

The auxiliary lane and off-ramp to Contra Loma Boulevard are not yet open, but they are expected to be open in the next week. The Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) and Caltrans are working together to complete this segment of the Highway 4 corridor project, referred to as Contra Loma Boulevard/L Street, of the highway construction project.

The purpose of the overall Highway 4 corridor project is to improve traffic flow on the highway and enhance motorist safety.

“We’re very happy to be able to open these new lanes to traffic and bring additional congestion relief to Eastern Contra Costa County,” said Ivan Ramirez, Construction Manager, CCTA. “This is the third of five segments we’ve opened to the public for the Highway 4 corridor project, and we’ll continue to work hard to finish the next two to deliver a modernized Highway 4 to the public.”

“Caltrans is glad to work with our partner in this growing community in East Contra Costa County,” said Dan McElhinney, Caltrans Chief Duputy District Director. “Anything we can do to help meet the traffic demand is beneficial for the cities along this corridor and the entire Bay Area region.”

Construction on the Contra Loma Boulevard/L Street segment began in March of 2012. The eastbound lanes for the segment are expected to open in late November or early December.

The construction budget for this segment was $48.7 million. For more information, please visit our website at www.4eastcounty.org

About CCTA: The Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) is a public agency formed by Contra Costa voters in 1988 to manage the county’s transportation sales tax program and oversee countywide transportation planning efforts. CCTA is responsible for maintaining and improving the county’s transportation system by planning, funding and delivering critical transportation infrastructure projects and programs that connect our communities, foster a strong economy, increase sustainability, and safely and efficiently get people where they need to go. CCTA also serves as the county’s designated Congestion Management Agency, responsible for establishing programs to keep traffic levels manageable. More information about CCTA can be found online at www.ccta.net

About Caltrans: Caltrans manages more than 50,000 miles of California’s highway and freeway lanes, provides inter-city rail services, permits more than 400 public-use airports and special-use hospital heliports, and works with local agencies. Caltrans carries out its mission of providing a safe, sustainable, integrated and efficient transportation system to enhance California’s economy and livability.

The Highway 4 projects include improvements that will help modernize eastern Contra Costa County. The projects expand Highway 4 from four to eight lanes between Loveridge Road in Pittsburg to just west of State Route 160 in Antioch, from two to four lanes from Lone Tree Way to Sand Creek Road in Brentwood, add missing connector ramps at the State Route 160/Highway 4 interchange, and add a BART extension from Pittsburg to Antioch. This will greatly improve transit accessibility for the region, help reduce traffic congestion, and enhance the quality of life for the more than 250,000 residents of eastern Contra Costa County. The projects have been carefully staged to keep 130,000 vehicles per day moving as major construction and demolition work continue. These projects, plus previously constructed projects in the region, bring the total investment in East County to $1.3 billion, including State, Federal, Contra Costa Transportation Authority Measures C and J, regional bridge tolls, and other funds.

FULL FREEWAY CLOSURES:

There are no full freeway closures planned for this week.

HIGHWAY LANE CLOSURES:

State Route 4:

There will be highway lane closures in the westbound direction of State Route 4 between Railroad Avenue and Somersville Road on Monday through Friday from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm.

There will be highway lane closures in the eastbound direction of State Route 4 between Bailey Road and Somersville Road on Monday through Friday from 5:00 am to 12:00 pm.

There will be highway lane closures in the westbound direction of State Route 4 between A Street/Lone Tree Way and Somersville Road on Saturday evening from 11:00 pm to 8:00 am and again on Sunday through Thursday evenings from 9:00 pm to 4:00 am.

State Route 160:

There are no highway lane closures of State Route 160 planned for this week.

RAMP CLOSURES:

State Route 4:

The State Route 4 westbound on and off ramps at Contra Loma Boulevard/ L Street will be closed on Saturday evening from 11:59 pm to 7:00 am and again on Sunday through Thursday evenings from 9:00 pm to 4:00 am.

State Route 160:

There are no ramp closures of State Route 160 planned for this week.

LOCAL STREET CLOSURES:

There are no local street closures planned for this week.

For questions or comments please send e-mail to info@4eastcounty.org.

Transit Card accepted Nov. 1 on Tri Delta Transit, County Connection, WestCAT, Wheels

Clipper, the all-in-one transit fare payment card already accepted on 13 Bay Area transit systems, is expanding this Sunday, Nov. 1, to four more bus services in the East Bay: Tri Delta Transit, County Connection, WestCAT and Wheels. The four transit agencies will accept Clipper cards loaded with cash value as well as a range of 31-day passes good for local or express travel.

“This is a major benefit both for people who ride the bus to BART as well as those who rely on the bus for local trips,” said MTC Commissioner, County Connection board member and Orinda City Councilmember Amy Rein Worth. “I am pleased that MTC and the transit operators have worked together so well to make Clipper available to more East Bay transit riders.”

Clipper already is accepted on AC Transit, BART, Caltrain, FAST, Golden Gate Transit and Ferry, Marin Transit, Muni, SamTrans, SF Bay Ferry, SolTrans, Vacaville City Coach, VINE and VTA.

“Clipper is so convenient. You don’t have to worry about exact change, and if you ride BART, you get the same transfer discounts without having to keep track of paper transfers,” said Alameda County Supervisor and MTC Commissioner Scott Haggerty, who also serves as a board member of the Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority, which operates the Wheels transit service. “You can set it up to automatically reload, and you can use your transit benefits to load value on the card. These features make Clipper a much more attractive option than cash.”

Clipper is used for fare payment on nearly half of all transit trips in the Bay Area. Last month, Clipper was used for an average of more than 800,000 trips each weekday. About one-third of all registered Clipper cards are signed up for Autoload, which automatically reloads value on the card when it runs low.

The Clipper network will expand again in 2016 to Union City Transit, Petaluma Transit, Santa Rosa CityBus and Sonoma County Transit. Clipper will be the sole fare payment method used by Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) when it begins operation in late 2016.

Clipper is a service provided by Bay Area transit operators and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.

For more information about Clipper, go to clippercard.com or call Clipper Customer Service at 877.878.8883.

OAKLAND, CALIF., – The California Transportation Commission (CTC) and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) want to hear from Bay Area residents about how they view current highway and local roadway conditions, and about proposals to stabilize state funding for transportation system repairs and maintenance.

The two agencies are hosting a public forum at the Caltrans District 4 Auditorium at 111 Grand Avenue in Oakland on Thursday, Oct. 22, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. to discuss and generate feedback on these issues. Topics to be covered at the forum include:

• How does the current condition of the Bay Area’s transportation system affect economic growth and regional competitiveness?

• What are the near-term and long-term transportation needs and priorities in the Bay Area and in California?

• How can we stabilize and increase funding needed for repair and maintenance of highways, roads and local streets?

• How do we pay for ongoing operation and maintenance costs for our transportation network?

• What are some of the key transportation projects that are being planned in the Bay Area?

Numerous Bay Area and state business and transportation leaders are expected to speak at the forum, and the public is encouraged to attend this event. More information on the transportation forum is available here.

The CTC is responsible for programming and allocating funds for the construction of highway, passenger rail and transit improvements throughout California. MTC is the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.

FULL FREEWAY CLOSURES:

There are no full freeway closures planned for this week.

HIGHWAY LANE CLOSURES:

State Route 4:

There will be highway lane closures in the westbound direction of State Route 4 between Railroad Avenue and Loveridge Road on Monday through Friday from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm.

There will be highway lane closures in the eastbound direction of State Route 4 between Bailey Road and Loveridge Road on Monday through Friday from 3:00 am to 12:00 pm.

State Route 160:

There are no highway lane closures of State Route 160 planned for this week.

RAMP CLOSURES:

State Route 4:

The State Route 4 westbound off ramp at Hillcrest Avenue will be closed on Friday evening from 11:00 pm to 4:00 am. (See map, below)

State Route 160:

There are no ramp closures of State Route 160 planned for this week.

LOCAL STREET CLOSURES:

There are no local street closures planned for this week.

For questions or comments please send e-mail to info@4eastcounty.org.

FULL FREEWAY CLOSURES:

There are no full freeway closures planned for this week.

HIGHWAY LANE CLOSURES:

State Route 4:

There will be highway lane closures in the westbound direction of State Route 4 between Railroad Avenue and Loveridge Road on Monday through Friday from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm.

There will be highway lane closures in the eastbound direction of State Route 4 between Bailey Road and Loveridge Road on Monday through Friday from 4:00 am to 12:00 pm.

There will be highway lane closures in the westbound direction of State Route 4 between Hillcrest Avenue and Contra Loma Boulevard/ L Street on Monday through Friday evenings from 9:00 pm to 4:00 am.

State Route 160:

There are no highway lane closures of State Route 160 planned for this week.

RAMP CLOSURES:

There are no ramp closures planned for this week.

LOCAL STREET CLOSURES:

There will be lane closures in the northbound and southbound directions of Contra Loma Boulevard/L Street between Lemon Tree Way and Saint Francis Drive on Monday through Friday evening from 7:00 pm to 6:00 am.

Cavallo Road will be closed in all directions between E. Tregallas Road and Sunset Drive starting on Saturday morning at 7:00 am and ending on Sunday evening at 8:00 pm. For questions or comments please send e-mail to info@4eastcounty.org

FULL FREEWAY CLOSURES:

State Route 4:

There are no full freeway closures of State Route 4 planned for this week.

State Route 160:

There will be a full freeway closure of State Route 160 in the northbound direction between

the State Route 4/State Route 160 connector ramp and Main Street on Sunday through

Thursday evenings from10:00 pm to 4:00 am.

HIGHWAY LANE CLOSURES:

State Route 4:

There will be highway lane closures in the westbound direction of State Route 4 between

Railroad Avenue and Loveridge Road on Monday through Friday from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm.

There will be highway lane closures in the eastbound direction of State Route 4 between

Bailey Road and Loveridge Road on Monday through Friday from 4:00 am to 12:00 pm.

State Route 160:

There will be highway lane closures in the northbound direction of State Route 160 between

the State Route 4/State Route 160 connector ramp and Main Street on Monday through

Friday from 6:00 am to 5:00 pm.

RAMP CLOSURES:

There are no ramp closures planned for this week.

LOCAL STREET CLOSURES:

There will be lane closures in the northbound and southbound directions of Contra Loma Boulevard/L

Street between Lemon Tree Way and Saint Francis Drive on Sunday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Cavallo Road will be closed in all directions between E. Tregallas Road and Sunset Drive starting on

Saturday morning at 6:30 am and ending on Sunday evening at 8:00 pm. This closure has been

postponed.

For questions or comments please send e-mail to info@4eastcounty.org.

For more information visit www.4eastcounty.org.

 

Got questions about our planned Transbay Tube closure? BART officials will host a live online town hall meeting from Noon-1pm on Tuesday, July 28th to answer questions about the work taking place the first weekend in August and during Labor Day weekend to repair a critical section of track near the Transbay Tube.  BART officials from Operations and Maintenance and Engineering will take questions that have been emailed or tweeted in before and during the webcast.

Riders can ask questions about how the lifeline bus service will work, the closure of the West Oakland Station, what it means for the rest of the system, details about the work being performed and why it’s important, and any other related question.

How it works

• Starting today and through the live event you can email your questions to BetterBART@bart.gov.

• Starting at 9am on Tuesday, July 28th, you can tweet your question by tagging @SFBART. We will also monitor the feed during the event for those with questions once the town hall starts. We will not be responding via Twitter. You must watch the town hall to see if your question was answered.

• The town hall will be held from Noon-1pm on Tuesday, July 28th. Watch it live at www.bart.gov/townhall. To watch the meeting, make sure you have Microsoft Silverlight downloaded on your computer. Google Chrome is not compatible with Microsoft Silverlight so you must use another browser to watch the event.

An archive video will be available at the same location immediately following the event for those who couldn’t watch it live.