Caltrans gives $900,000 to reopen tunnel

By Mark Prado, Marin Independent Journal
June 12, 2002

Money to reopen the Cal Park Hill tunnel for bicycle and pedestrian use keeps pouring into the county.

The California Department of Transportation has announced it will hand over $908,591 to Marin to help open the 1,000-foot-long tunnel between San Rafael and Greenbrae. It has been closed since the 1960s when railroads faded from the county's landscape and Highway 101 came into pre-eminence.

"This is the first tunnel reopening project that we have funded," said Ken McGuire, who works in Caltrans' bicycle account program. "The purpose of our program is to remove barriers for bicycle traffic and this is a great example of that."

The project to reopen the tunnel, which has been discussed since 1974, is on a roll of late. Last month, the California Transportation Commission approved $3 million for the project.

"This latest money is big news for bicycle transportation in the county," said Debbie Hubsmith, president of the Marin County Bicycle Coalition. "The Cal Park Hill Tunnel is the No. 1 project for Marin bicyclists."

A reopened tunnel would allow bicyclists to ride from downtown San Rafael to the ferry terminal in five minutes, Hubsmith said. Bike riders now have to take a hilly, circuitous route near San Quentin State Prison that takes 20 minutes.

While the tunnel initially would be re-opened for bike and pedestrian use, it is wide enough to accommodate other forms of transportation, such as a shuttle bus or even a train.

Over the years, 10 railroad tunnels in Marin that were part of the Northwestern Pacific Railroad system were abandoned and shut down.

In that time, Highway 101 has become jammed with cars, and transportation planners are looking at ways to ease the gridlock. Bicycle advocates say the re-opening of railroad tunnels will provide thoroughfares between major transit points.

Early estimates put the Cal Park Tunnel reconstruction work at $5.7 million. The county already has been able to bank $1.6 million for the Cal Park Hill project and has several grants in the pipeline that would deliver the needed cash to complete the project. The tunnel could be re-opened and open to the public by 2005.

"We hope to have full funding for the project by the fall," Hubsmith said.

Contact Mark Prado via e-mail at mprado@marinij.com