Transbay Tube earthquake retrofitting is now completed, BART’s commitment to safety and disaster preparedness continues
San Francisco, California – Officially finishing a massive $1.5 billion earthquake retrofitting project of its Transbay Tube, key arterial link between San Francisco and Oakland, the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) authority is making a major step towards improving the resilience of its infrastructure against natural disasters. Emphasizing its ongoing commitment to safety and constant service improvement, this milestone marks exactly 50 years after BART started operations through this underwater tunnel.
Originally opened in 1972, the Transbay Tube—which runs about four miles under the San Francisco Bay—has been a vital part of the public transit system for the area. Beginning in earnest in 2017, the retrofitting project was driven by the growing need to strengthen the tunnel against significant earthquake that experts estimate could strike the area with significant impact.
BART General Manager Bob Powers highlighted the upgrades.
“The Transbay Tube now boasts a stronger steel lining and a more effective pumping system, designed to withstand even the most severe earthquakes projected to occur once in a millennium,” Powers said in an interview with ABC7 News Bay Area. These enhancements are part of a broader initiative by BART to bolster its entire system against potential disasters, ensuring the safety and security of its daily riders.
The performance of the tunnel during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake highlighted the need of such improvements since it not only survived the shocks but also kept running almost constantly soon after the earthquake. The most recent developments significantly strengthen this historical resiliency. The whole renovation included the installation of sophisticated pumping systems designed to control water entry, a situation expected during high seismic activity.
“One of the predictions is if there were some sort of earthquake that was very, very powerful, there could be small cracks that could create some minor flooding and so this pumping is designed to remove that flooding,” BART spokesperson Jim Allisonsaid.
Reflecting the community’s support and awareness of the vital need of preserving and improving transit infrastructure resilience, funding for this large-scale project came mostly from a $980 million bond package approved by voters in 2004. Completing this project also marks the end of BART’s extensive Earthquake Safety Program, which has seen 34 original stations and over 74 miles of track along with other important infrastructure elements protected against any seismic hazards.
Completing this retrofitting project not only marks a major technical and engineering accomplishment but also supports BART’s position as a vital part of the Bay Area’s transportation system, ready to meet the challenges of the future as BART honors a half-century of service via the Transbay Tube.
