Warm Springs BART Project Recognized With Transportation Award

FREMONT, CA — The Warm Springs BART West Access Bridge and Plaza Project has been selected to receive the 2022 Outstanding Transportation Project award from the American Society of Civil Engineers – San Francisco Section, a news release from the city of Fremont announced last week.

According to the release, the award "recognizes innovative projects with a principal focus on transportation design and construction."

The West Access Bridge project, which crosses over five sets of Union Pacific railroad tracks to connect the Warm Springs/South Fremont BART Station to the Fremont Innovation District, was recognized at the annual ASCE San Francisco Section Meeting Sept. 28 in the Historic Green Room at the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center.

The $41 million project is composed of a truss span and a cable stay span for a total length of 150 feet, according to the news release.

"Truss components were fabricated off site and delivered to the project site where they were welded together and ultimately hoisted into place and connected to the BART station," the city said, adding that the cable stay bridge includes a 120-foot-tall pylon that is the signature architecture element of the bridge.

"From there, the bridge ties into the Warm Springs Plaza via a staircase, escalators, and an elevator tower. These elements are integral to the signature architecture," the city said.

Mayor Lily Mei called the award an accomplishment and said it showcased how the city and BART were building better communities

"The 2022 Outstanding Transportation Project Award is a wonderful recognition of how the West Access Bridge connects people to transit in both a smart and beautiful way," Mei said.

According to the news release Fremont's design team included Biggs Cardosa & Associates, HNTB and Gates & Associates, with Shimmick Construction Co. as the contractor.

"Preconstruction, planning, design, and utility relocation work was funded by the city of Fremont ($11 million). The construction cost of $30 million was funded by the Alameda County Transportation Commission. By agreement, BART funded its own project support and oversight costs of $1.5 million from Measure RR separately," the news release said.

The Warm Springs/South Fremont Station opened for service in 2017 and includes art installations, solar panels and EV charging stations along with other environmentally sustainable features, the news release said.