Efforts to rebuild BART advance despite impacts of global pandemic
There are now more rebuilding projects happening across the BART system than at any point in the District’s 50-year-history despite the continuing impacts of the global pandemic. That’s one of the conclusions in a newly released report on BART’s Measure RR rebuilding program that will be presented to the BART Board of Directors at its meeting on Thursday, August 25.
The independent Measure RR Bond Oversight Committee's new annual report says through March 2022 $1.26 billion in Measure RR funds were invested in a total of 150 projects. Measure RR is now in its 5th year of what is expected to be a 20-year lifespan of work. Yet 35% of all anticipated work has been completed. That is well ahead of projections made by BART in 2016 when Measure RR was approved by District voters. Work has been progressing despite issues with global supply chains and availability of workers because of the pandemic.
The independent oversight committee wrote that based on its review of projects and data presented by BART staff that “BART is delivering rebuilding projects in a timely manner, those projects are enhancing the reliability and safety of the system, and the work is being pursued in accordance with industry best practices.”
Work completed to this point includes:
*Replacement of 42 miles of worn rail.
*31 track switches replaced. Track switches are part of interlockings, which allow trains to safely move from one track or line to another.
*46 miles of 34.5kV (kilovolt) cable have been replaced to ensure trains have a reliable source of power.
*Enhancement of 59 miles of third rail coverboard (coverboards are curved pieces of fiberglass that protect the electrified third rail that powers trains).
As of March, a total of 36 Measure RR projects had been completed, up from 22 last year.
Measure RR rebuilding work is making a difference when it comes to the rider experience. The data below indicates replacing decades old equipment that has exceeded its design life is improving system reliability and reducing delays by hundreds of trains per year. One example is the replacement of aging rail. Before the RR work BART averaged 417 train delays for rail issues annually. Since the work that number is down to 13. BART is also seeing a decline in the number of issues requiring unscheduled maintenance. Reducing unplanned maintenance allows BART crews to focus on planned rebuilding work that will improve system reliability for decades to come.
Measure RR is a $3.5 billion bond measure that was approved by voters in Alameda, Contra Costa, and San Francisco counties in 2016. The independent Bond Oversight Committee is comprised of seven members who represent a diversity of expertise. The organizations represented on the committee include the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Association for Budgeting and Financial Management section of the American Society for Public Administration, the Project Management Institute, and the League of Women Voters.