BART Extension Fremont Warm Springs San Jose Diridon Station/Google Transit Village

[lpetrich]

Fremont approves Warm Springs BART station bridge project - Inside Bay Area

Bridge construction is expected to begin in early 2017 and end in fall 2018. The Warm Springs/South Fremont BART station is scheduled to open this spring.

Checking the construction-cam views, the Warm Springs station is being landscaped, with a lot of its grass now in place. No flowers or bushes or trees visible, at least not just yet. There are also some shipping containers still present, and some piles of what look like bollards. On the station building's roof are what look like solar panels.

Milpitas's station-building exterior looks like it's in late stages of construction. The light-rail-station walkway is in place, roof and all, and behind the station building is a partially-done parking garage.

Berryessa's station has all its canopy framework, though the center canopy is still not yet filled in. Behind it is another partially-done parking garage.

I've found BARTSiliconValley - YouTube -- it shows construction updates, often from inside the construction itself.

[lpetrich]

Roadshow: Montague Expressway upgrade coming for BART - San Jose Mercury News
On when the Warm Springs extension will open:

A No date yet, as there is a lot to be done. BART is well into what it calls dynamic and static systems testing. That will be followed by systems integration. There are numerous pieces of construction remaining -- painting, tiling, railings, lighting and photovoltaic panels. Those should be finished in a few weeks.

Also a lot of stuff on construction around the Milpitas BART station.

[lpetrich]

Fremont: Warm Springs BART station opening expected in summer - Inside Bay Area

With its structure nearly complete and testing of trains in its second month, the Warm Springs/South Fremont Bay Area Rapid Transit Station is expected to go into service this summer, according to BART spokeswoman Molly McArthur.

... Testing of several systems such as communications, train control and traction power were expected to begin that November. However, trains did not begin rolling into the station for testing until January.

So we may not know for some months when the extension will open.

At the entrance to the station, the grand rotunda features an art glass installation by Catherine Widgery called "Sky Cycles," which depicts images from different times of day, different times of year and different points of view. The project continues with abstract images on glass inside on the west and east sides of the concourse. To the east are images of hills and to the west are images inspired by the water of San Francisco Bay. It is the largest art installation in the BART system, McArthur said.

Should make for some interesting pictures.

Phase II of VTA’s BART Silicon Valley Project Gets FTA Green Light -- it's now in the "project development" phase. It involves selecting a Locally Preferred Alternative to build, working out a funding plan, and completing the environmental-review process.

April 2016 marks four years of progress on VTA's BART Silicon Valley Berryessa Extension (Phase I). Just over eighty percent of the construction contract to build the line, track, stations and systems is complete. By spring next year, BART (operator) is expected to begin to test trains on the newly built 10-mile segment. The two station campuses at Milpitas and Berryessa have been visibly taking shape over the past year. A long list of completed milestones related to the eleven grade crossings in the corridor, part of the fully-grade-separated $2.3 billion transportation investment, are also keeping the project months ahead of schedule and trending under budget. BART Phase I is expected to be carrying passengers by fall 2017.

[lpetrich]

Fremont: Warm Springs BART station rumbles toward finish line - San Jose Mercury News
They are now expecting the third quarter of this year: July, August, or September.

[lpetrich]

VTA’s BART Silicon Valley Project Reaches its “Highest” Milestone
The pouring of the last of the Berryessa parking garage's 15,000 cubic feet of concrete. This structure will have a 109-ft elevator tower, reaching the highest in all the extension, and it will have 7 stories, 1200 parking spaces, and 380,000 square feet of floor area. It will also have solar panels on its roof, panels which should supply about 42% of its electricity, and also 24 chargers for electric cars.

April 2016 marks four years of progress on VTA's BART SVBX project. By fall 2016, BART is expected to begin testing trains on the newly built 10-mile segment. The project is months ahead of schedule and trending under budget. VTA's BART SVBX project is on track to open for full ridership fall 2017.

I couldn't find anything on the VTA's plans for its four Fremont-BART bus lines: 120 (Lockheed Martin, Moffett Field), 140 (Mission College), 180 (Great Mall, (commute: Aborn + White)), 181 (Diridon Transit Center). The first thing I think of is that they will be redirected to the new Warm Springs station, and that they may have their Fremont ends of lines moved to there also.

[lensovet]

VTA’s BART Silicon Valley Project Reaches its “Highest” Milestone
The pouring of the last of the Berryessa parking garage's 15,000 cubic feet of concrete. This structure will have a 109-ft elevator tower, reaching the highest in all the extension, and it will have 7 stories, 1200 parking spaces, and 380,000 square feet of floor area. It will also have solar panels on its roof, panels which should supply about 42% of its electricity, and also 24 chargers for electric cars.

April 2016 marks four years of progress on VTA's BART SVBX project. By fall 2016, BART is expected to begin testing trains on the newly built 10-mile segment. The project is months ahead of schedule and trending under budget. VTA's BART SVBX project is on track to open for full ridership fall 2017.

I couldn't find anything on the VTA's plans for its four Fremont-BART bus lines: 120 (Lockheed Martin, Moffett Field), 140 (Mission College), 180 (Great Mall, (commute: Aborn + White)), 181 (Diridon Transit Center). The first thing I think of is that they will be redirected to the new Warm Springs station, and that they may have their Fremont ends of lines moved to there also.

the details are all at http://www.vta.org/serviceplan" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. In particular:

• 120 will continue to start in Fremont but will be rerouted to stop at WS as well
• 140 will continue to start in Fremont but will be rerouted to stop at WS as well. It will no longer stop at Great America.
• 180 will be cut back to WS and no longer go to Fremont
• 181 routing will remain unchanged

[lpetrich]

Thanx. From the "rumbles" article,

Paul Medved, the project manager for BART, is scheduled to deliver a status report on the Warm Springs/South Fremont station development to the agency's board of directors on April 28 in Oakland.

I've been rather impatiently checking BART's home page for news on the extension, but there has been none for at least the last few weeks.

In my Bay Area days, I'd go around the south lobe of San Francisco Bay every now and then. When I arrived, there was only BART (downtown SF - Fremont) and Caltrain (4th+Townsend - Diridon), with two gaps, one in SF, and one in the SJ area. Both of them were bridged by buses, a SF-Muni bus and the Fremont-Diridon VTA-180 bus.

In 1998, the SF gap was filled in by the Muni Metro being extended from Embarcadero to 4th+Townsend. Most recently, a new Transbay Terminal is under construction and Caltrain is to be electrified and extended to it. So Caltrain's SF end will be moved to 2 blocks away from BART.

The SJ gap is only gradually getting filled in, however, and it is now partially filled by the VTA light-rail system. Its construction history:

• 1987: Old Ironsides - (W Tasman Blvd.) - Tasman - (N 1st St.) - Civic Center
• 1988: Civic Center - (Downtown Mall) - Convention Center
• 1990: Convention Center - Tamien (Caltrain)
• 1991: Tamien - Santa Teresa
• 1999: Old Ironsides - Mountain View (Caltrain)
• 2001: Tasman - (E Tasman Blvd) - I-880/Milpitas
• 2004: I-880/Milpitas - (Great Mall Parkway) - (Capitol Ave) - Alum Rock
• 2005: San Fernando (downtown) - Diridon (Caltrain) - Winchester

So the gap is now Fremont - Milpitas, and it will become Warm Springs - Milpitas, and will eventually close. BART itself is to be extended to Diridon, avoiding a transfer to VTA light rail.

[lpetrich]

TerraServer - Aerial Photos & Satellite Images - The Leader In Online Imagery -- I decided to see what I could find with it. Its latest Fremont images are from March 17, 2016, about a month ago.

The Warm Springs station seems mostly done. There are not many construction containers left on the site.
Mission Blvd.: overpass done.
Kato Rd.: overpass done.
Dixon Landing Rd.: BART underpass seems evident -- may be partially done
Milpitas Station: structures largely done, parking-garage top floor half in place
Capitol Ave.: not sure about underpass -- just started?
Trade Zone Blvd: underpass looks done.
Hostetter Ave.: underpass looks done.
Lundy Ave. + Sierra Rd.: underpass looks half-done
Berryessa Rd.: overpass done
Berryessa Station: parking garge largely done, the rest is rather confusing
Mabury Rd.: overpass done.

[lpetrich]

I checked the the Oxblue Warm Springs camera view -- the station now has trees and bushes. But some of the shipping containers are still present there, like those big orange boxes.

Warm Springs Extension Construction Photos REV March 2014 - Warm Springs Extension - Picasa Web Albums (the page warns that Google is phasing out Picasa, and that users' albums on Google's servers will be moving to Google Photos)

It has been updated to show a test train on the extension's tracks, including at Warm Springs station.

[lpetrich]

Looking at the Oxblue camera view for Warm Springs reveals little outward change. The station outwardly looked close to finished, but there are still some shipping containers scattered over the parking lot.

Toll Brothers buys land near Fremont Warm Springs BART station - Silicon Valley Business Journal

The 34-acre site — a short distance from the Tesla Motors plant — comes with approvals for roughly 1,000 residential units, ranging from dense apartments to condo flats and townhomes. All told, it’s among the largest housing projects moving forward in Bay Area.

One of the article's illustrations shows an artist's conception of 5-story apartment buildings. Another one shows a map view, complete with a "retail plaza". That plaza will be close to the northeast corner of the Warm Springs Station's parking lot, and it will have 5000 square feet of floor area. That's 70 ft * 70 ft. A BART railcar is about 70 ft long, so that figure is not as impressive as it looks. It also may not be much competition for food trucks at the station itself.

The Oxblue cam reveals that construction has already started, though at this stage, it's mostly clearing the ground.

The article, dated June 15, states that the Warm Spring extension should open in the 3rd quarter of this year (2016). It's the beginning of the second month of that quarter, and there is still nothing at BART's site about when it will open.

Roadshow: BART may start running to San Jose in late 2017 - Mercury News -- in response to a reader's question,

A That's what the Valley Transportation Authority insists, even though its website lists 2018. In the next couple of months the tracks will be energized and then testing will begin. As for Warm Springs, BART says that extension will open this fall after more testing -- a message we've been hearing for far too long.
['/quote]

VTA: Test trains at Milpitas BART Station up and running in six months - Mercury News

"Right now for the Milpitas station they are putting in some of the track work in the boarding area, some improvements for the pedestrian overcross which will connect the BART station to the VTA station," Franklin said. "The parking garages have been topped off, the whole structure is complete and both the Milpitas and Berryessa stations will have 1,200 parking spots."

She added all related trench work -- where trains go underground in places between the Milpitas station and the Berryessa BART Station in San Jose -- for the $2.3 billion extension has also been completed.

"For Milpitas, people would enter the station building at ground level and take the stairs or elevators down below ground to the loading platform," Franklin said.

There are some trenches outside that section of line, trenches just north of the Milpitas station and at Dixon Landing Road. The Milpitas one looks done, but the DLR one?

Here is the status of everything but the BART line along the route:

• Mission and Warren area -- almost all done
• Kato Road -- done
• Dixon Landing Road -- construction continues
• Montague Expwy. -- almost all done
• Capitol Blvd. -- done(?)
• Trade Zone Blvd. --- done
• Hostetter Rd. -- done
• Sierra Rd. and Lundy Ave. -- done
• Berryessa trackway -- done

Milpitas Station Campus Update - Spring 2016 - YouTube mentions plans for an additional pedestrian bridge to the Milpitas station, one over Montague Expressway to the north of it.

Its YouTube channel also has a video with a simulation of a tunnel boring machine, suggesting that TBM's will be used through downtown San Jose, rather than cut-and-cover.

[lpetrich]

Fremont: Warm Springs BART station opening delayed again - Mercury News
For these reasons:

• Fully testing communications systems
• Replacement of the power-supply cable for the third rails

Testing of several systems such as communications, train control and power traction are expected to continue through next month, he said, and the new station should open four to six weeks after that for the 6,000 to 7,000 daily riders expected to use it.

The cable should be replaced by early September, suggesting an opening date from early to late October. But given the extension's difficulties, it could slip into November.

BART to San Jose gets funding promise - Mercury News

The project to tunnel BART through downtown San Jose has received $20 million in state funding, an action that local officials hailed as a boost for the 6-mile extension from the future Berryessa station west to Santa Clara.

More important, the cap-and-trade money approved Tuesday by the California State Transportation Agency came with a vow that the agency "anticipates being a long-term funding partner" for the $4.7 billion line.

...
In the Bay Area, the Altamont Corridor Express trains also got $20 million for station and track upgrades, and Caltrain will receive $20 million to help electrify the line from San Jose to San Francisco.

So, like Berryessa, much of the money will come from the state government.

[lpetrich]

From Warm Springs Extension News | bart.gov,

• Construction continues, and lists "site paving, landscaping and irrigation, and installation of machinery."
• Dynamic and systems testing continues, tests of the trains and systems.
• Training of workers continues.

Opening date: Fall 2016, though it might be further delayed by testing.

[lpetrich]

I checked on the Oxblue construction cameras for Warm Springs, and they've cleared most of the construction stuff out of the parking lot. Only a few construction vehicles, trailers, containers, and dumpsters remain. Construction dumpsters are sometimes elongated and open-top, as opposed to typical building dumpsters.

I've seen some rumors about when BART's management plans to open the Warm Springs station, rumors published in at least one reputable news outlet. But I still have not seen any officially-stated opening date, other than "fall".

Turning to the San Jose extension, the construction-activities map shows much less than previously. Most of the construction's traffic disruption seems to have ended, meaning that the construction is now in phases that cause relatively little traffic disruption. Most of the trackway is done, and electrification is starting.

The expected opening date is still some time in late 2017.

In the first quarter of that year, the second phase's Record of Decision should be done, meaning that the project can move to final design and construction.

[lpetrich]

I checked the Oxblue cameras again for the Warm Springs station. All its construction stuff is gone from the parking lot, except perhaps for stuff behind the station's elevated walkway and its roof.

But BART's Warm Springs page is now stating that the station will be opened in late fall. That suggests next month or early December.

[lpetrich]

Fremont: No opening date for BART Warm Springs station
That is because they are still testing the train-control equipment. After that will be "pre-revenue operations", running the trains as if in service, but without the passengers.

I checked on Time-Lapse Construction Camera: BAY AREA RAPID TRANSIT DISTRICT (SFBART/WarmSpringsExt) and most of the outwardly-visible construction seems done.

Further south, construction continues. The Milpitas and Berryessa station structures look largely done, even if outwardly incomplete (VTA's BART Silicon Valley Extension - Cam Views).