California Construction News staff writer
The City of Oakland has selected Parsons Transportation Group, Inc. to develop engineering designs and conduct community engagement for the Embarcadero West Rail Safety and Access Improvements Project, and reconstruction of the overweight corridor.
The $25 million design contract is one of the largest in the city’s history. The project will significantly improve multi-modal safety and accessibility along the Embarcadero corridor and to surrounding neighborhoods and businesses. When constructed, the improvements will also reduce travel times for freight and passenger rail.
“The complex nature of the intersecting modes of transportation on Embarcadero West, including rail, vehicles, and people walking and rolling, deserves complex transportation solutions to ensure safe, efficient, and environmentally responsible movement of people, goods, and vehicles,” said District 3 Councilmember Carroll Fife. “I’m proud to support this project that will improve reliability and access to local, regional, and intercity transit.”
The project includes completing improved safety designs for eight at-grade railroad crossings from Oak Street to Market Street, designing a pedestrian and bicycle trail connection between transit stations, installing fencing along the railroad tracks between intersections, and the redevelopment of the overweight corridor, which accommodates trucks between 80,000 and 95,000 pounds by permit only, from Middle Harbor Road to Market Street.
“The Jack London district is a crucial intersection of Oakland’s history as a working waterfront and railroad connection to the entire country,” said Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas. “By securing this contract, OakDOT can deliver a project that will consider that enormous scale while making sure the improvements work to reconnect Oaklanders to the Jack London Square waterfront and improve access to businesses.”
Proposed improvements include:
The Embarcadero West Rail Safety and Access Improvements will also upgrade street segments perpendicular to the rail corridor between Embarcadero West and 2nd Street on Martin Luther King, Jr. Way to Oak Street and on Market Street between Embarcadero West and 3rd Street.
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