Nogales Street railroad underpass half way done

Construction on Nogales Street railroad underpass nears 50 percent done

Construction on Nogales Street railroad underpass nears 50 percent done

With construction nearing the halfway point on the Nogales Street railroad underpass, the Alameda Corridor East Construction Authority awarded a new construction contract this week for another underpass on nearby Fairway Avenue.

But CEO Mark Christoffels was quick to note that Fairway won’t be closed until Nogales Street opens next spring.

“We don’t want to cause any more traffic congestion than we have too,” Christoffels said. “But this way we can start preliminary work on the utilities along Fairway Avenue.”

The head of ACE led a tour of the work on the Nogales Project. The $117 million project began in May of 2013.

“We’ve done 45 percent of the work so far, right on schedule,” said senior project engineer Charles Tsang.

Read more in Rich Irwin’s story NOGALES

U.S. Transportation Secretary to visit Nogales St. project on Friday

Artist rendering of the new Nogales Street railroad underpass.

Artist rendering of the new Nogales Street railroad underpass.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx will join U.S. Representatives Grace Napolitano and Ed Royce, and members of the Alameda Corridor-East (ACE) Construction Authority to visit the Nogales Street highway-rail grade separation project on Friday morning.

The busy boulevard will close to traffic at 6 a.m. Saturday for a two-year project to separate the road from the railroad grade. Once completed, the roadway underpass and railroad bridge will eliminate collisions, delays for emergency
responders and train horn noise and reduce traffic congestion and vehicle emissions.

Secretary Foxx will also tour the nearby confluence of State Routes 60 and 57 for a briefing on improvement plans.