Search title image

TRANSACTIONS NEWSLETTER ONLINE

March/April 2002

Project Update:
BART-SFO Line Nearly Done
Millbrae Station

(Photo: BART-SFO Project)
The Millbrae station's wing-like structure is a nod to aviation; passengers at the intermodal hub will be able to easily cross between BART and Caltrain.

BART is on track to serve San Francisco International Airport (SFO) by late this year. Construction is nearing completion on the 8.7 miles of rail extending the system from Colma to SFO and Millbrae. The line was partially electrified in February and its four stations run the gamut from 78 percent finished at South San Francisco to virtually done at SFO. As of February, the extension overall was 92 percent done, with less than one mile of subway box yet to be installed. Construction workers are now readying the north portion of the line for testing, with the south portion to follow.

Most of the heavy construction is in the past now, and on a recent tour of the project it was surprisingly quiet: no jackhammers, no piles being driven into the ground — just a crane lifting a few construction materials up to the top of a new parking structure. Workers at the South San Francisco and San Bruno stations were installing platform tiles and escalators. The final touches will include the installation of artwork at all four stations.

The joint BART-Caltrain station at Millbrae will replace the much smaller nearby Caltrain stop cur-rently in use. Nearly 90 percent complete, the new station will extend the reach of the regional rail system by providing a direct connection between BART and Caltrain for the first time. In a nod to aviation and the nearby airport, the intermodal facility features graceful, wing-like arches covered by translucent, Teflon-coated fabric. The structure shelters a large elevated concourse that leads to the BART and Caltrain platforms below, at ground-level.

The SFO BART station will be an integral part of the new International Terminal — and will provide stunning bird's-eye views of giant 747s lumbering along the tarmac.

Escalators will link the BART platforms to AirTrain, the airport's internal people-mover system, which will whisk passengers in driverless metallic-blue cars to the airport's other terminals, as well as parking garages and rental car facilities.

Both the BART line and AirTrain are anticipated to open in the fall of 2002.
— David Weinreich

Contents