The long-planned Hercules Hub, a multi-modal transit facility along the Capitol Corridor route near the Hercules Waterfront District, will benefit from a new grant allocation from the State Transit & Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP).
On Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced an allocation of 28 TIRCP grants totaling $690 million for public transportation projects. Among them is a nearly $30.871 million grant allocation to the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority (CCJPA) for its joint application with the City of Hercules, the City of Sacramento, and Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District.
In a statement, the City of Hercules said some of that funding will be used to continue the design of the Hercules Hub, which includes a new Capitol Corridor train station and eventual ferry service.
“This phase of the project will include improvements such as a third track designed to bypass the station for freight operations, grade-separated access to the new platform, and increased safety measures along the corrido,” city officials said.
Over $46 million of federal, state, and local funds have been invested to date to bring this vision to fruition. The latest state grant will help attract additional federal funds for the project, officials said.
Nearly two decades in the making, the Hercules Hub aims to connect thousands of housing units with a new train stop along the Capitol Corridor, bicycle and pedestrian pathways, bus routes, carpool options, and future ferry service.
Some phases of the Hercules Hub project are completed, including the eastern and western extension of the Bay Trail to connect Pinole and Rodeo to the station, and the Path to Transit, which extended John Muir Parkway to provide road access necessary for WestCAT to provide service to the Hub.
“With 1,400 housing units and 340,000 square feet of commercial space, the Waterfront District is ready for the Hub,” Mayor Alex Walker-Griffin said in a statement. “We are excited to be able to move forward and deliver this great project which will connect our residents and employers with rail, bus, and ferry options.”
CORRECTION: An initial version of this story incorrectly stated that the Hercules Hub would recieve all of the $30.871 million grant allocation. The story has been corrected to reflect that the Hub would benefit from a share of that grant allocation.
