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Broadway Overpass: A Long Way Away

One of the common questions I hear in town is "When are they going to fix the rest of Broadway?" meaning now that the bridge has been replaced, what about the rail crossing?  My standard response is "There isn't nearly enough money socked away to even start".  That is the bottom line of a piece in today's Daily Journal recapping the discussion at Council on Monday.  Here are my favorite tidbits, but do click through here to get all of the bits.

No decision was made at the meeting, as the issue was only discussed following a presentation from the county Transportation Authority, which allocates Measure A sales tax revenue for transit projects. The project is currently largely unfunded, and is expected to be completed by 2026, according to available financing.  Examining the rising cost of construction, Transportation Authority officials anticipate the price will jump by about 35% over the life of the project, amounting to about $40 million more than the proposed current cost by 2026.

Although it is apparently considered the most-needed project in all of Northern California.  Here's another gem

In a separate presentation, a Caltrain official said future service at Broadway will sap stops from the Burlingame station as well, as the proximity of the two stations will result in one train stop at either station every 30 minutes.

You mean like a real train service?  Discussion of Mike Brownrigg's idea of not having a station at all at B'way (ostensibly to shorten the Giant Wall Dividing The City) raised the other council members' hackles.  With massive residential development at the Anson apartments on Carolan and Facebook coming along with whatever goes in on the State Lands Commission property (see the next post below), one would think we would want more train service at B'way.  Anyway you look at it, there's not enough money floating around to do much of anything for years.

 

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15 responses to “Broadway Overpass: A Long Way Away”

  1. resident

    The solution to this whole mess is obvious. Instead of an overpass just do an underpass like San Carlos did at Holly. No long wall. Less money. Leave the old station where Maverick Jack’s is now. Why do they let people who can’t see clearly develop the plans?

  2. Laura

    I believe underground wipes out part of Broadway, up a block. Or at least that’s what I’ve always been told. Can’t understand why as the San Carlos one doesn’t seem to require as much space. Perhaps different requiements?

  3. Just Visiting

    If you like San Carlos at Holly, you’ll like this; they are just about exactly the same thing. Both are partially underpass and partially viaduct.

  4. BMW

    Here’s the slide deck, with renderings from the presentation to council:
    http://burlingameca.legistar.com/gateway.aspx?M=F&ID=502aced8-d4f0-4d75-9a78-f84ac1f72d34.ppt
    There’s a lot of emphasis on offstreet parking, when this should be the walking and neighborhood station. If you maximize parking, they will come. They will drive. And any improvements to traffic via the grade separation will be muted by the number of people driving to the area to get to the station.
    But that’ll be in the late 2020’s, early 2030’s. We first have to survive 2021 when electrification is done and more trains are running, those RR gates will be down half the time.

  5. Gerald Weisl

    Broadway’s train station is within hoofing distance of thousands of residents. It’s a modest business district, so having viable train service for those working in the area is helpful. Add to the mix the thousands of hotel rooms within a short distance…and incoming enterprises such as Facebook and there is plenty of reason to operate Broadway’s train station.
    Caltrain worked hard to diminish ridership to claim a legitimate reason for by-passing Broadway.
    If they offer good quality train service on a regular and frequent basis, there will be good ridership. If they offer but sporadic service, there won’t be the customer base.
    Isn’t Mr. Brownrigg running for a state senate position? Maybe some creativity to bring train service to Broadway would be a good idea. How did these other towns swing a grade separation?

  6. Biddy

    Why not redevelop the little Broadway Street into affordable housing. In looking at these old obsolete buildings along the street developers would love to build it into something our city residents could be proud of in the long run; then maybe we can address a train stop. No matter what time you we are on Broadway all you see is the workers at the businesses and probably not enough to put a train stop.

  7. Joe

    From the City newsletter:
    The City of Burlingame has been working closely with Caltrain to upgrade the Broadway railroad crossing by creating a junction with two different “grades” or heights so that train traffic will be completely separated from motorist, cyclist, and pedestrian traffic. The project will significantly improve safety and alleviate traffic congestion along the Broadway corridor and surrounding area.
    The City of Burlingame and Caltrain are currently working to complete environmental studies and preliminary design for the Broadway Grade Separation Project. More detail about the project is available by clicking here. The City had requested grant funds from the San Mateo County Transportation Authority for moving the project into its final design phase. At its July 11, 2019 board meeting, the San Mateo County Transportation Authority approved a $18.3 million grant for developing the final design. Once the design is completed, the project will then be considered “shovel ready” and eligible to apply for future grants and other funding sources for the construction phase of the project.

  8. Joe

    John Horgan had this little tidbit at the end of his column today:
    LATEST ESTIMATE IS A WHOPPER: If you have ever wondered if inflation is heating up, look no farther than the most recent estimate of the cost of a proposed railroad grade separation in Burlingame.
    When the plan to construct such an important traffic safety project at Broadway (with its direct access to Highway 101) was first broached some years ago, it was reliably estimated to cost $100 million. Not now.
    ———–
    I called it two years ago.
    https://bit.ly/3wAMdDF

  9. Joe

    From the DJ on new taxes in B’game. This is one of the “hope springs eternal” issues:
    Mayor Ann O’Brien Keighran added that funding for the Broadway grade separation project was still needed. Money for the project could be roped into a funding mechanism for sea level rise infrastructure.
    “This is something we’ve been trying to get money for for years,” Keighran said, adding that there has been difficulty obtaining federal and state help for the project.
    https://bit.ly/3EJiMUW

  10. Joe

    This original post is almost three years old, so it’s a little hard to call this update in the DJ “news”:
    Plans to raise the Caltrain tracks to pass over Broadway in Burlingame are nearing their final design phase, but the city still needs to come up with close to $300 million in the next two years to complete the task. Ballooning costs, projected to be near $316 million in total, and difficulty securing funding, however, have hindered the effort.
    The city is seeking funding from the county in addition to state and federal grants to cover the cost and move the project forward. Officials hope to secure funding prior to the planned construction start date in 2025 and complete the project in 2028.
    https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/local/new-broadway-intersection-is-nearing-design-in-burlingame/article_d1301c18-9140-11ec-8f84-afe2717a781e?utm_source=smdailyjournal.com&utm_campaign=%2Fnewsletters%2Fheadlines%2F%3F-dc%3D1645282815&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline
    Click through to see a rendering of the proposed design.

  11. Pythagoras

    Brownrigg is correct. If we measure the data on the number of people who live near Broadway who would take the train you’ll see the numbers are minimal.
    Then count the number of people who take the train on Burlingame Ave you’ll find it makes no economic sense to have two stations within 4 blocks of each other.
    Bottom line; it is a crazy idea and would do a disservice to taxpayers of Burlingame and the State of CA.

  12. Phinancier

    I do not read Brownrigg making any statement on the station. He’s just talking about getting rid of the dip in the road and raising the overpass higher.
    If memory serves that design was to keep HSR from bouncing up and down every quarter of a mile but that must have been a non-problem.
    If you want to know why we have raging inflation just read the last sentence “There’s tons of money becoming available,” Public Works Director Syed Murtuza said.

  13. Joe

    This post is almost four years old and as valid today as it was when I wrote it. The bike lane changes near B’way are raising hackles and I will eventually weigh in, but the DJ article also highlighted the money situation on the grade separation:
    (Syed) Murtuza also said the project between California Drive and Broadway, the same section the businesses are concerned about, is a temporary lane until the city secures the funds for the Broadway Grade Separation, a Caltrain project seeking to separate trains from the vehicle right of way.
    However, that project is estimated to cost $300 million and, after accounting for state, federal and county grants, the city still needs to come up with around $262 million before it can break ground on the project.
    “We have applied for a number of grants but there is never enough money for these large infrastructure projects. And we hope we will be successful but we are competing against many infrastructure projects nationwide,” Goldman said. “Until we have the money we can’t start putting the shovels out.”
    https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/local/burlingame-bike-lane-project-causes-concern/article_9f5d43ba-cdde-11ed-8e79-9727c7870c8c
    We’re only a quarter of a billion short………….

  14. Peter Garrison

    So easy: All we need is a bridge spanning Broadway to the 101 maze.
    Build the structure in pieces off-site. Maybe near Brisbane at the old Schlage ruins.
    Heavy-lift the pieces by helicopter and fit them together Lego-style.
    On-site hassle takes a week.

  15. Joe

    Several commenters are ahead of me on the current post about the Broadway intersection here:
    https://www.burlingamevoice.com/2023/09/broadway-intersection-from-bad-to-worse
    But I like going back in time to refresh our memory on how long issues have been simmering, so I will put the mid-2024 update here on this five year old post. From the DJ:
    Just one day after a press conference with local officials and state Sen. Josh Becker calling for the restoration of state funds for the dangerous Broadway Caltrain crossing grade separation in Burlingame, a joint legislative budget agreement seemed to do just that.
    “Today’s announcement rejecting proposed budget cuts for critical grade separation projects in Burlingame, Palo Alto, and Mountain View demonstrates that the Legislature is united in prioritizing safety, improving public transit, and honoring its prior commitments that have been made to our communities,” Becker said in a press release Wednesday. “We need these state funds now so that we can leverage federal matching funds and finally begin construction on these necessary safety upgrades.”
    ——————–
    Translation: We gotta long way to go before we are even close on full-funding
    ——————–
    Project funding is currently relying on an approximately $160 million commitment from the San Mateo County Transportation Authority and another $15 million from the California Public Utilities Commission once shovel-ready, Beach said.
    If $70 million from the state is successfully obtained, federal funds will more likely follow.
    Not only is it dangerous for drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians, but an influx of housing construction in Burlingame and neighboring cities means more people trying to get back and forth, Colson said — and Caltrain’s electrification project, slated for September, will eventually increase speed and frequency of trains through the Broadway crossing.
    ———————–
    And there we almost get to the root of the problem–cart way out in front of the horse. The proper sequence is infrastructure first (and not just roadways), then medium density residential additions, THEN commercial building on the Bayfront.

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