MTC HOLDS OPEN HOUSES DEC 8 & 9 ON RICHMOND-SAN RAFAEL CORRIDOR PROJECTS

Dec 8 in Richmond / Dec 9 in San Rafael (6:00-8:00 pm)

For Immediate Release

Contact:  John Goodwin 415-778-5262 / Randy Rentschler 415-778-6780

Public Invited to Learn More as Construction Begins on Richmond-San Rafael Corridor Projects

SAN FRANCISCO, November 29, 2016 . . . The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), Caltrans, the Transportation Authority of Marin (TAM) and the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) invite the public to a pair of open houses in Richmond on Thursday, Dec. 8 and in San Rafael on Friday, Dec. 9 to learn more about the Interstate 580 Access Improvement Projects now beginning construction in the heavily traveled Richmond-San Rafael Bridge corridor.

To reduce congestion on eastbound Interstate 580, MTC and its partners are working to convert the right shoulder to a third freeway lane from the Sir Francis Drake Blvd. on-ramp in Marin County to the Richmond Parkway/Point Richmond exit in Contra Costa County. Project elements include reconfiguring the Main Street on-ramp from San Quentin Village with a retaining wall to improve the traffic merge with the new lane; replacing pavement on the bridge approaches to accommodate heavier traffic loads; and relocating a retaining wall in Richmond to achieve safe sight distances for vehicles traveling in the new right lane. The third eastbound traffic lane is scheduled to open in the fall of 2017.

To provide a bicycle/pedestrian link between Marin and Contra Costa counties, the agencies will establish a path on the north side of Interstate 580, with concrete barriers to separate bikes and pedestrians from westbound freeway traffic. These include a moveable barrier on the upper deck of the bridge that will allow Caltrans to conduct maintenance work during short closures of the path. Construction work on the moveable barrier project is expected to begin in the spring of 2017, with completion slated for the spring of 2018.

Lane and ramp closures necessary for construction activity will take place mostly in late night and early morning hours, but some closures may extend until 8 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

Public Open Houses

Thursday, December 8, 2016 Friday, December 9, 2016
6 p.m. to 8 p.m. 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Richmond City Hall, 450 Civic Center Plaza San Rafael City Hall, 1400 Fifth Avenue

Each Open House will be an informational meeting at which members of the public can review project plans, talk with project team members and provide input.

MTC is the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. Caltrans owns, operates and maintains the state highway system, including seven Bay Area toll bridges. TAM is the congestion management agency and the transportation sales tax authority for Marin County. CCTA is the congestion management agency and the transportation sales tax authority for Contra Costa County.

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