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Press Releases

For Immediate Release

New lanes open to traffic

Bayfront Expressway Widening Completed

CONTACT:

Réka Goode, MTC/BATA
510/464-7706

Lauren Wonder, Caltrans
408/232-0228

OAKLAND, Calif., July 29, 2003. . . Motorists traveling between the East Bay and San Mateo County via the Dumbarton Bridge now have a smoother commute, thanks to the completion by Caltrans of a project to alleviate congestion and widen the Bayfront Expressway/State Route 84 between the bridge and Marsh Road in Menlo Park.

Local officials gathered at the expressway on Tuesday morning, July 29, 2003, to announce the opening of the new lanes to traffic — three months earlier than expected and in little over a year from the start of construction.

“The early completion of this project is great news for all Bay Area residents and especially the 60,000 motorists a day who use the expressway,” Caltrans District 4 Director Bijan Sartipi said.

The expressway is now six lanes wide, three in each direction, from the Dumbarton Bridge to the U.S. 101/Marsh Road interchange. The section of roadway from the bridge to University Avenue was reconstructed to upgrade shoulders to a standard 10 feet in width and to install dedicated left- and right-turn lanes.

“All these improvements should make traffic flow much more smoothly in an area that has been a major bottleneck in the past,” said Sue Lempert, San Mateo city councilmember and Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) commissioner. The Bayfront Expressway widening is part of a $1.6 billion program funded by $1 of the $2 bridge toll paid on the seven state-owned toll bridges and overseen by MTC in its role as the Bay Area Toll Authority.

The $36 million Bayfront Expressway project includes:
  • Widening Willow Road and University Avenue from the railroad tracks to State Route 84;
  • Intersection improvements at Marsh Road, Willow Road and University Avenue;
  • Extension of the Dumbarton Bridge bicycle path to Marsh Road, along with improvements to the existing portion of the path, which is part of the regional Bay Trail; and
  • Work to upgrade the traffic signal system along the Bayfront Expressway, which will be completed in September.

The widening project will provide relief for the East Palo Alto community, taking the burden off the city’s chief artery, University Avenue, and encouraging drivers to use the Marsh Road/U.S. 101 interchange instead.

As part of the final phase of the project, $650,000 will be spent to protect more than eight acres of habitat for the endangered Salt Water Harvest Mouse and create more than three acres of wetlands. Viewing areas, public access and signs will be constructed along the salt flats for Bay Trail users.

In addition to Caltrans’ Sartipi and MTC’s Lempert, other participants in the event announcing completion of the widening project were Nicholas Jellins, mayor, Menlo Park; David Woods, councilmember, East Palo Alto; Rose Jacobs Gibson, president, San Mateo County Board of Supervisors; and Deberah Bringelson, president and CEO, Samceda/Peninsula Policy Partnership.

Caltrans was responsible for the design and construction of the expressway widening, while funding and oversight were provided by the Bay Area Toll Authority, whose members also serve on MTC, the transportation planning, funding and coordinating agency for the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties.


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Note to editors: To download a map of the Bayfront Expressway widening project, go to www.mtc.ca.gov/meetings/press_releases/Bay_Xpress_map.pdf



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