BART to Bolt Heavy Steel Plates inside Tube

BART will spend $7.7 million to bolt thick steel plates inside the Transbay Tube as part of the transit agency's ongoing program to improve protection against damage and injury in case of earthquakes.

Under the contract approved by the BART board of directors on Jan. 26, California Engineering Contractors of Pleasanton will be required to install the 2.5-inch plates inside the 3.6-mile-long tube that runs between Oakland and San Francisco under the Bay, BART said in a news release.

The work will begin this spring and take about two years to complete, BART said.

BART's seismic safety program also involves strengthening 34 stations, 22 miles of elevated track and 1,918 support columns, in addition to parking structures and other facilities, according to the transit agency. The total project, which began in 2005, is expected to be complete in 2016.

"The program is 85% complete, ahead of schedule and on budget," BART said.

Voter-approved bonds are financing $980 million of the $1.3 billion budget, according to BART.

The Transbay Tube "carries about half of BART’s 365,000 daily weekday riders and, during the peak transbay commute hours, BART riders equal the number of Bay Bridge drivers – 50,000 – reducing bridge congestion by half," according to the agency.

Significant earlier work on strengthening the tube has been completed, BART said.

More information on the agency's seismic safety efforts can be found at http://www.bart.gov/earthquake.