Altamont Rail Routes Raise Concerns

Do or die.

That's how Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty referred to the Altamont Corridor Rail Project that residents reviewed Thursday  in Livermore.

"This is it for us," Haggerty said at the public meeting held in Livermore's Shrine Event Center. "If we make mistakes now (millions of dollars go to waste)."

However, a small group of speakers at the meeting didn't agree with the supervisor's statement regarding the rail system that would connect Stockton and San Jose via the Altamont Corridor.

"That is heavy-handed and is not open minded," Donna Cabanne said. "It's not trying to get into the real concerns of the community."

Those concerns include impacts a route through south Livermore would have on wildlife and the area's vineyards.

Plans call for running the rail system south of Livermore, primarily underground and along the power transmission tower corridor, officials said. A station for this route would be near Vasco Road, just north of the .

The route would continue toward the southern border of Pleasanton and connect at a station where Interstate 680 and State Route 84 meet.

officials are concerned about this route because it goes through .

Another route reviewed by residents Thursday runs adjacent and parallel to the Union Pacific Railroad corridor, and includes aerial and underground options. That choice would place stations in the downtowns of Livermore and Pleasanton.

However, the aerial option through downtown Livermore has detractors.

Residents in previous public meetings about a proposed raised concerns over the visual impact of downtown aerial structures.

The downtown route also is unpopular with residents who want BART extensions on the freeway.

Valerie Raymond, a member of a community group pushing to keep a Livermore BART extension on Interstate 580, said she would prefer a rail route using Greenville Road, where it could meet a possible BART extension on the freeway.

California High-Speed Rail Authority officials said the project is in the early stages. They want to narrow possible routes so the project can move forward with an environmental impact report.

Officials first brought the rail project to the public in November 2009 to introduce and gather comments. They plan to unveil station designs and hold public workshops next winter.

A draft environmental impact report is expected to be completed in June 2012. Officials then would hold public meetings to review the report.

Cost for the project, which spans 110 miles, will be up to $7 billion, officials said.

There is no funding source yet, but the project may be eligible for high-speed rail bonds, said Brent Ogden, manager of the Altamont Corridor Rail Project.