From today’s San Francisco Chronicle:
Southern Crossing, transbay tube would cost at least $8 billion, study says
Michael Cabanatuan, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 3, 2002
Building a “Southern Crossing” bridge from Highway 238 in Hayward to the Peninsula would cost $8.2 billion while constructing a new BART tube between San Francisco and Oakland would cost $10.3 billion, according to the study. Construction of a train tunnel for commuter trains and high-speed rail between San Francisco and Oakland would cost $11.8 billion.
“At first blush, it seems like a lot, and people are going to do a double- take,” said Randy Rentschler, spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, which ordered the study. “But if you take that second look, you realize that these are major improvements, and they’re going to carry a big price tag.”
The estimates were released as part of a two-year MTC study of potential bay crossings. The study was commissioned at the request of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who said she was concerned about increased congestion on the Bay Bridge.
Commuters have dreamed of a Southern Crossing for four decades, but transportation officials have studied and rejected the idea as too costly at least three times. The latest study also looked at transit alternatives to a new bridge.
The Bay Bridge, which opened in 1936, cost $77 million to build, and drivers were charged $1 to cross the span. The estimated cost of the new eastern span is estimated at $2.6 billion, double original projections.
Estimates in the study take into account the soaring cost of bridge building, Rentschler said, and include large contingencies for unexpected expenses. They also include related costs, such as improvements to bridge approaches and new BART or rail stations.
“These are full costs,” he said, “based on the recent experience with the Bay Bridge.”
But the study also offers some less costly transportation improvements, including expansions to existing bridges, a rail connection across the old Dumbarton railroad trestle, creation of a regional express bus network and efforts to increase carpooling.
“The question is whether people want to spend that kind of money to get new bridges or tunnels,” said Rentschler, “or whether they’d rather invest in (less costly) improvements.”
Asking Bay Area voters to approve tax increases to pay for such major projects would be an uncertain proposition even in prosperous economic times.
And elected officials and other transportation advocates are already asking taxpayers to open up their wallets. State Sen. Don Perata, D-Oakland, has proposed raising the $2 toll on state-run toll bridges to $3 with the extra $130 million a year being used for mass transit improvements.
State lawmakers are studying how to pay for a proposed $25 billion statewide high-speed rail system. Backers recently proposed placing a $6 billion bond measure on the ballot to raise money to connect the Bay Area and Los Angeles by bullet train. The money would have to be matched with federal or private money to complete the link, estimated at $12 billion.