Thank You President Obama!

As we made our way through the ever congested Caledcott Tunnel this morning (on route to The Container Store in Walnut Creek) we noticed a sign saying that the tunnel would be closed on July 19 from 10pm to 4am. I thought that was rather strange and wondered what was going on. We whipped out the handy Iphone and investigated a little further (and to our surprise) we discovered that a 4th Bore is being added to the tunnel. I have to admit, I didn't even know what a bore was...(well, at least, not as it pertains to the tunnel) Anyway, maybe some of you Bay Area folks aren't up on the latest Caldecott news either. So here's a little info to bring you up to speed. (If you're not from the Bay Area, maybe you will find it interesting anyway)

History of the Caldecott Tunnel

In the 1880s, a stagecoach trip from Lafayette to Oakland (approx 10.5 miles) took more than two hours. The most difficult part of the journey was traveling over the steep, twisting roads that wound through the Berkeley Hills, separating Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Accidents were frequent – sometimes fatal – when horse-drawn carriages careened out of control on the steep slopes, crashing into trees or rocks or colliding with other carriages.

A tunnel had been considered as far back as the 1860s, but no progress was made towards building one until the late 1870s when the Oakland and Contra Costa Tunnel Company built the Kennedy Toll Road. One-hundred feet of tunnel was dug on the Contra Costa side and 200 feet were excavated from the Oakland side and then...the company ran out of money.

For the next 30 years, travelers either put up with the difficult road over the  Berkeley Hills or took the long way around through Richmond. 

In the meantime, merchants in Oakland continued to complain that they were losing business to San Francisco and Martinez, which were actually farther away, but easier to access because of the local railroads.

The dream of a tunnel was revived in the 1890s when money from the two counties and funding from private citizens financed a new tunnel. After decades of planning and false starts, the new tunnel finally opened in 1903.

The Kennedy Tunnel

The Caldecott Tunnel has been an important link in the East Bay transportation network since the Kennedy Tunnel opened. Today the Caldecott Tunnel is a three bore highway tunnel between Oakland and Contra Costa County, CA.  The tunnel is named after Thomas E. Caldecott (1878–1951), mayor of Berkeley from 1930–1932, member of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors 1933-1945, and president of Joint Highway District 13, which built the first two bores.

The Caldecott Tunnel Design

Bore 1 (the southernmost bore) and Bore 2 were completed in 1937 and are each 3,610 feet long and carry two lanes of traffic. There are narrow walkways and no shoulders. Bore 3 (the northernmost bore), built in 1964, is 3,771 feet in length, and also carries two traffic lanes. The third bore has no shoulders but slightly wider walkways. 

The middle bore (Bore 2) can be shifted to accommodate heavy traffic (and THAT my friends is the problem). Generally, it carries westbound traffic from about midnight to noon and eastbound traffic from about noon to midnight.

Construction of a fourth bore began in January 2010. Cost of construction is estimated at $400 million, of which the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act  will provide $280 million. Your stimulus $$ at work!!

Congestion and traffic delays have afflicted the Caldecott Tunnel since the 1960's. Planning of the fourth bore was anticipated and included in the design phase of the third bore. 

With Hwy 24 carrying about 160,000 vehicles per day traveling through the three tunnels, the new fourth bore will relieve congestion in the off-peak direction (eastbound in the morning and westbound  in the afternoon and eliminate  the need to switch the direction of traffic flow in the middle bore to accommodate shifting traffic demands. When the Fourth Bore Project is completed, two bores will be permanently dedicated to westbound traffic and two bores to eastbound traffic. 


Expected completion date 2013.

Hallelujah, what a happy day that will be!!

I'm Just Sayin