By the Monday morning commute on August 11, Warren Avenue at the future BART corridor crossing in Fremont will open to traffic. The road opening marks completion of the long-awaited safety and mobility enhancements and infrastructure upgrades to make way for the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority’s (VTA) BART Silicon Valley Berryessa Extension.

In June2013, Warren Avenue was closed to construct a grade separation of the roadway from future BART service and the existing freight railroad. Warren Avenue now trenches under the new street-level bridges that were constructed for both railroads, greatly enhancing safety by separating train traffic from pedestrian and auto traffic. A new pedestrian sidewalk on the south side of Warren Avenue (to be opened later) and striped bike lanes will also provide added safety. Additional lane widening on Mission Boulevard and new on and off ramps from Kato Road to Mission Boulevard will be completed later this fall.

“The closure of Warren Avenue played a major role in allowing VTA to make the necessary roadway improvements for connections to future BART service in Silicon Valley. Improvements to separate automobile traffic will help reduce traffic and enhance safety specifically for cyclists and pedestrians – a major win to Fremont residents and businesses for years to come,” said Bill Harrison, Mayor of the City of Fremont. “Thanks to the patience of our community, BART can now go all the way through our city and complete Fremont’s role as a destination for our neighbors to the north and south.”

The Warren Avenue grade separation is a major element of the overall Mission Warren Area Improvement Project, a joint effort by the City of Fremont, Alameda County Transportation Commission, Caltrans and VTA. In June 2012, RGW Construction, Inc. was awarded a $45 million construction contract for the Mission Warren Area Improvement Project. Overall project cost is $151 million funded by a combination of federal, state ($9.6 million in State Proposition 1B funds) and local sources.

Perhaps more notably, the City of Fremont and both Alameda and Santa Clara Counties are making up 85% of the total cost for the Mission/Warren Improvements slated for completion in early 2015.

“Santa Clara and Alameda County voters saw that the benefit of bringing BART to Silicon Valley extends beyond transit and encompasses all forms of transportation in this critical location,” said Carl Guardino, CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, which helped pass the measures that helped fund this project and others along the corridor. “The cooperation among the transportation agency, Fremont, Alameda and Santa Clara Counties and the state – not to mention motorists – has been phenomenal. Better infrastructure and better transportation options will help our economy.”

The opening of Warren Avenue falls in a succession of milestones already achieved thus far on the largest infrastructure improvement in VTA and Silicon Valley history. To date, VTA has relocated all UPRR tracks from future BART operating corridor; completed the Kato Road Grade Separation in Fremont; and made significant progress at both the Berryessa and Milpitas stations. At the August VTA Board of Directors meeting, a contract award is up for approval for the design and construction of the parking structures planned at the two future BART stations in the amount of $86.8 million – the second largest contract to be awarded on this rail infrastructure project.

Congressman Mike Honda, who helped secure $900 million in funding that is bringing BART to Silicon Valley said, “People who have driven through this area have been very patient with the construction that has happened here for almost two years, and now their patience is paying off,” said Congressman Mike Honda. “These improvements on Warren Avenue represent real progress in bringing BART to Silicon Valley.”

The initial planned completion for VTA’s BART Silicon Valley Berryessa Extension was 2018, but due to projected schedule and budget savings as a result of the design-build delivery method, passenger service is anticipated by late 2017.

VTA’s BART Silicon Valley Extension

VTA’s Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Silicon Valley Project is a 16-mile extension of the existing BART system to San Jose,Milpitas and Santa Clara, which will be delivered through a phased approach. The first phase, the Berryessa Extension, is a 10-mile, two-station extension, beginning in Fremont south of the future BART Warm Springs Station and proceeding in the former Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way through Milpitas, the location of the first station, and then to the Berryessa area of north San Jose, at the second station. VTA continues project development activities for the second 6-mile phase of the project that includes a 5.1 mile-long subway tunnel through downtown San Jose, and ends at grade in Santa Clara near the Caltrain Station. Construction on the second phase of the project will commence as additional funding is secured.

For more information, please contact VTA Community Outreach at (408) 934-2662, TTY (408) 321-2330, or visit www.vta.org/bart.


About VTA

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) is an independent special district that provides sustainable, accessible, community-focused transportation options that are innovative, environmentally responsible, and promote the vitality of our region. VTA is responsible for bus, light rail and paratransit operations and also serves as the county’s congestion management agency. As such, VTA is responsible for countywide transportation planning, including congestion management issues, specific highway improvement projects, pedestrian and bicycle improvement projects, and provides these services throughout the county, including the municipalities of Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, Saratoga and Sunnyvale. VTA continually builds partnerships to deliver transportation solutions that meet the evolving mobility needs of Santa Clara County.