By Kathy Choteau
BART is advising local residents that it will be shutting down the Richmond BART Station for a track construction project over five weekends starting Jan. 16 and ending in March. Work will kick off over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, with the shutdown weekends encompassing Jan. 16-18, Jan. 30-31, Feb. 13-15, Feb. 27-28 and March 13-14.
According to BART, project work has already commenced on replacing trackway components adjacent to the Richmond Station that are approximately 50 years old. “Crews will focus on rebuilding an interlocking…a critical section of track that functions like an intersection for cars by allowing trains to safely move from one line to another,” said BART officials.
During the project’s construction weekends, BART suggests riders utilize the El Cerrito del Norte Station instead of the Richmond Station. A free AC Transit bus will be provided to riders between Richmond and El Cerrito del Norte on shutdown weekends; riders of this bus should expect to add 15-20 minutes to their trips.
BART is also notifying neighbors and businesses close to the Richmond Station that they may experience noise from equipment and crews along with construction lighting at night. “Noise levels are expected to be like those from past maintenance work in the area,” said BART officials, who added that “the results of this project will be a safer and more reliable system for riders and a quieter BART experience for neighbors.”
Funding for the project nearby the Richmond Station has been furnished by Measure RR, a $3.5 billion bond measure that voters in Contra Costa, Alameda and San Francisco counties approved in 2016 to rebuild and improve the BART system.
For more info about the construction project, check out BART’s Frequently Asked Questions and Fact Sheet.
