Freeway closures: The eastbound and westbound lanes of Interstate 580 at the El Charro/Fallon road interchange east of Dublin will be closed at various times for bridge construction work between midnight and 4 a.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Westbound lanes will be closed midnight to 3 a.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at the interchange. Motorists traveling westbound will be detoured off the freeway at the westbound Fallon Road offramp and directed across Fallon Road to re-enter on the westbound onramp.

Eastbound lanes will closed from 1 a.m. to 4 a.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at the El Charro/Fallon interchange. Motorists traveling eastbound will be detoured off the freeway at the eastbound Fallon Road offramp and directed across Fallon to re-enter on the eastbound onramp.

The plan is to shut down only one direction of the interstate at a time, with work being completed by 4 a.m. The bridge is being widened from two to four lanes, with construction expected to be completed by September. Similar closures occurred in February March, August and earlier this month when support beams and a barrier rail were put in for the bridge expansion.

From Contra Costa Times, writer Robert Jordan.

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At our recent meeting, an update was given on the Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority’s (LAVTA) Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project.  BRT is designed with the latest technologies to actually change traffic signals to green as the buses approach in order to create a more “rapid” system.  There will be fewer stops with more direct routes to busier locations such as the BART stations.  LAVTA sought and has received $11 million in federal funs in order to build the capital infrastructure for the BRT, which is seen by transportation experts as a major step towards improving public transit options in the Tri-Valley.Although some buses have already been purchased, over the next 18 months LAVTA will be acquiring, installing, and testing the transit signal priority and queue jumping equipment while also manufacturing and installing bus shelters, benches, garage/recycling receptacles, lighting, informational signange, and flag stops.  The BRT buses and bus stops will have a completely different look from LAVTA’s traditional Wheels buses, and the BRT shelters will have electronic signs with up-to-date traffic information.If construction goes as planned, the BRT project will be completely by fall/winter 2010, and the launching of service will take place in early 2011.

Tags: Tim's Travels by Tim Sbranti
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I took advantage of my attendance at a recent LAVTA Administration and Budget Sub-committee meeting to ask staff about the feasibility of expanding bus service from the eastern half of our City to Dublin High School.  Currently, students living east of Dougherty Road rely on Route 202 to get them to Dublin High School, but from beginning to end the route has 12 stops and takes 34 minutes.  The route leaves at 7:06 a.m. and arrives at Dublin High at 7:40, and is already full to capacity.There is some interest from the Dublin Unified School District and the City of Dublin to partner on creating a more direct route with fewer stops.  We are working with LAVTA on creating a special route that perhaps stops just twice - at Fallon and Dougherty.  By only having two stops, the bus can get to Dublin High in half the time of the Route 202 and can make 2-3 morning trips.  By making transit easier, more direct, and less time-consuming, this will increase ridership in the system and decrease the number of parents driving their kids to DHS.I will have more to report in the next couple of months as progress is made.

Tags: Tim's Travels by Tim Sbranti
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