On the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Transbay Tube, BART leadership on Monday announced the completion of the 3.6-mile tunnel’s earthquake retrofit.
“The Transbay Tube now has a stronger steel lining,” said BART General Manager Bob Powers. “It has a more powerful and robust pumping system that will protect itself against the type of earthquake that is projected to occur only once in 1,000 years.”
Monday’s announcement ends BART’s 20-year earthquake safety program, which cost $1.5 billion and included the retrofitting of over 74 miles of track, 34 stations, and additional critical infrastructure, said Powers.
Back in 1974, the tunnel was inserted by section into trenches dug out of the Bay floor, 135 feet below the water’s surface. Then it was washed out by hand before tracks were laid in. One of the employees who did that job was Ken Myers, who retired in 2021. On Monday, he recalled the original construction.
“The tunnel sections were covered, and they were flexible enough to withstand an 8-point earthquake at that time,” said Myers.
At first people were skeptical, he said, but ridership grew steadily until the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was rolling like crazy just before the pandemic, massive numbers of people,” said Myers. “We went from 460,000 people a day to I think 100,000 because of the pandemic that was devastating and it’s going to take time to bring that back.”
Rider revenue takes a hit
BART Board President Bevan Dufty said he started with 32 stations and ended with 48.
“We started a system where 70% of our operations were funded by passenger revenue, we had the highest fare box recovery of any system in the Bay Area and around much of the country. With the loss of ridership due to work from home and other factors, it’s been very difficult.”
Dufty said that BART is looking at other transit systems, like Valley Transportation Authority or MUNI, which he said are funded by government sources that BART does not get because it is a multi-county agency. He said BART was also researching a new service that would go from San Jose to Sacramento.
“Even in the difficult days of late, as we focus in on the fact that we are facing a fiscal cliff, I am really hopeful,” Dufty said. He pointed out that the public has responded well to the new trains and new fare gates in the Mission and Civic Center stations, which prevent people from jumping over and not paying.
“I think that we’re too important to fail. We very much appreciate what President Biden did, providing resources to us. But then when the Congress shifted from Democratic to Republican, that support wasn’t there,” Dufty said. He added that he is hopeful that Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, who grew up in the Bay Area, could support a new financial model to match the change in ridership.
“We also are seeing increases in ridership and stations that were not as strong and working-class people who are struggling to stay in the Bay Area,” he said.
Dufty said a big part of their future has been about creating housing near BART stations through the Transit-Oriented Development program, which is aimed at building a systemwide total of 8,000 units of housing, with 35% being affordable.
“We have a story to tell,” said Dufty. “We’re helping to put that forward because we will have to go to the voters likely for a funding measure in 2026.”
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