Contact: Christine Dunn, 650.508.7927

Caltrain To Rebuild Redwood City Rail Bridge

Click image to see low resoultion map in a new window or download the PDF here.

On March 27, work will begin on a project to rebuild the Caltrain bridge that crosses Redwood Creek at Maple Street in Redwood City. The work has been scheduled to minimize the impact to the neighborhood and to Caltrain riders.

Construction will take place in two stages: first, the structure that supports the bridge will be strengthened and then the deck will be replaced. The entire project is scheduled for completion by June 12.

Neighbors will hear construction noise from concrete-cutting saws and jack hammers removing concrete, cranes lifting tracks and bridge panels, heavy equipment moving gravel and trucks placing asphalt. Acoustic curtains will be used to help reduce noise. Two portable light towers, powered by a diesel generator, will be used for night work.

Pennsylvania Avenue, a one-way street behind the Redwood City Library, will be used to store construction materials and will be closed to traffic. Library patrons and employees will be able to continue to enter and exit the library parking lot from Middlefield Road.

Work Schedule

March 27 to 31
The contractor will install temporary shoring under the bridge and build a temporary diversion dam. The work will take place during the daytime.

April 3 to May 18, 7:30 p.m. to 3 a.m.
Workers will use concrete saws to make strategic cuts in the bridge supports. This will take approximately four days. Then, jack hammers will be used to remove the concrete and precast concrete beams will be installed.

May 19 to May 22 & June 2 to 5, 6 p.m. to 3 a.m.
The new steel deck will be installed. Work will take place during 55-hour work windows on two weekends, from Friday evening to early Monday morning. No work will be done Memorial Day weekend.

During this time, Maple Street will be closed at the railroad tracks. Signs will direct traffic and pedestrians to a detour around the construction area.

From June 6 to 12, after the deck is installed, the contractor will remove construction materials and do general clean up around the site.

Impact to Train Schedule
During the construction trains may need to “single-track” through the area. As a result, passengers boarding in Redwood City and San Carlos may have to board on a different platform. Announcements about these changes will be made by conductors on board trains and at the stations.

On weekdays, single tracking will not begin until 7:30 p.m.

From May 19 to May 22 and from June 2 to June 5, trains will single-track beginning at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and continue through the weekend until the last train on Sunday night. On Saturday and Sunday of these two weekends, the southbound train schedule will be adjusted to depart 10 minutes later than currently scheduled.

The reconstruction of the Redwood Creek bridge is just one of several in a larger project to upgrade Caltrain bridges along the rail line. Many of the railroad bridges were built in 1906 and have reached the end of their useful life. Some of the bridges that cross streets are too low or too narrow to accommodate 21st century traffic, and others require seismic upgrades to meet more stringent safety standards.

Questions about the project can be directed to the Caltrain Customer Service Center at 1.800.660.4287.

02/21/06 - CRD