You Ask: What's Taking BART Work So Long?

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Rain is the main cause for delay of work on the BART tracks and Ohlone Greenway , said Jason McLean, a community relations liaison for BART.

Since October, BART has been supporting the tracks for earthquake safety. During the dry winter, the project was on, or even ahead of, schedule. In January BART officials told Albany Patch that work on the closed section from Brighton Avenue to Portland Avenue would be done by late February.

But for weeks, work in that area has appeared to be at a standstill, and Patch readers have been asking why.

"I am wondering what's going on and whether this project has just been forgotten," asked one reader. "To have one side of the street blocked off is very inconvenient (not to mention aesthetically challenging) for us local residents as we share the parking spaces not only with each other but also with the middle school. These past few months have not been easy in that regard and now it looks like there's absolutely no effort or will on the part of BART to finish up this project. Can you help and find out what's going on?"

In fact, the retrofitting is complete between Brighton and Portland. BART now needs only to pave the new, wider pathway along the . But the regular rains in March and April have interfered.

“Every time it rains, we have to wait three to five days to get compaction of base materials under paving areas,” explained Greg Jacobs, an engineering consultant for the city. “Before we can get approval to pave, we have to pass a compaction test.”

Once the ground is dry enough—and no rain is forecast for a week—the path paving should take seven to 14 days, said both Jacobs and McLean. Once paved, the path will be open to the public. Jacobs estimated that, weather permitting, that might occur in four weeks. But the grassy areas there will .

In the , the bases of the columns are complete, but crews are still working on the tops of the columns. McLean said part of the path would also be paved as soon as weather permits. But the section will not re-open until the retrofitting work is done.

Another section of the greenway closed last month, from Dartmouth south to the Berkeley line. McLean said that section is due to be complete by October.

Concerns about the project can be directed to the city's Public Works Department at 510-524-9543 or to BART's project information line for Albany, 510-412-5546, or by email to earthquakesafety@BART.gov.

Click the "Keep me posted" button below for an update when we post a new story about the BART seismic work .

If there's something in this article you think  , or if something else is amiss, call editor Emilie Raguso at 510-459-8325 or email her at albany@patch.com.