|
|
Follow us!
Stay up to date with our social media tools.
|
|

Meet the 2012 "Excellence in Motion" Award Winners
 |
Ed Roberts Campus Photo by Noah Berger
|
The Ed Roberts Campus in Berkeley has become a mecca for the Bay Area's disabled community, providing a wide range of services and resources to promote independent living, all at an attractive and ultra-accessible new building at the Ashby BART station. Just two years old, the pioneering facility is getting some well-deserved recognition in the form of the Grand Award in MTC's 30th Excellence in Motion Transportation Awards Program.
Other winners honored at a late-October ceremony in Oakland include California Senator Barbara Boxer, named the John F. Foran Legislator of the Year for her role in shepherding through Congress MAP-21, a major new federal transportation funding bill; former BART General Manager Dorothy Dugger, who received the Greta Ericson Distinguished Service Award for her leadership role during her 20-year tenure at BART (the award is named for the MTC commissioner who initiated the Awards Program in the 1970s); and a trio of high-tech firms--Google, Genentech and Oracle--that share a commitment to providing a rich array of commute services for their thousands of employees, including shuttles from distant points around the Bay, telecommuting options, bike-sharing, electric vehicles for local trips, and the like. Read profiles of the dozen-plus winners in our Transactions newsletter.
And view videos of their stories on YouTube.
Back to top
|
|
|

Bay Area Pavement Report Card Released
 |
Photo by Karl Nielsen
|
Our annual assessment of which Bay Area cities have the best and worst streets is out. The lowest-ranked pavement in the Bay Area was found in the Marin County city of Larkspur and the Napa County city of St. Helena, each of which recorded a Pavement Condition Index score of 44 for the three-year period running from 2009 to 2011. On the 100-point scale, a score below 50 is considered "poor," while a score of 80 to 89 is considered "very good." The top-ranked city in the region is Brentwood in Contra Costa County (score of 86), followed by Belvedere in Marin County (score of 85) and Dublin in Alameda County (score of 84). Overall, pavement on the Bay Area's 42,600 lane-miles of local streets and roads remains in "fair" condition, with an average score of 66. MTC is actively engaged in helping cities and counties improve pavement conditions through its StreetSaver online system for tracking pavement conditions and scheduling treatments and repairs. See the full story on the Pavement Report Card. Back to top |

Lecture Explores East Span Design
 |
Image Courtesy of Caltrans
| From the single, elegant tower to the unique asymmetric profile, the new East Span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge is a testament to innovative design and aesthetics. Come meet the designers and architects behind this iconic structure at the second installment of the Joseph Nicoletti Lecture Series about the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. Join Clive Endress, senior landscape architect with Caltrans, and Don MacDonald, principal with MacDonald Architects and Bay Bridge project architect, on Thursday, Nov. 29, as they discuss the design concept behind California's largest public works project. This event will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Bay Theater at the Aquarium of the Bay, located at Pier 39 in San Francisco. The event is open admission; tickets/reservations are not required. The lecture series is named after a Bay Area dean of seismic engineering, Joseph P. Nicoletti, who recently stepped down from several earthquake advisory panels after more than 25 years of public service and more than 40 years in the private sector as a seismic engineer and executive.
See more information about the lecture series, and watch the videos of the first lecture, Part 1 and Part 2.
Back to top |
Excavation Completed for Caldecott Tunnel
 |
Wirth roadheader used in Caldecott Tunnel Photo by Karl Nielsen
|
The giant, 130-ton Wirth roadheader made news when it first arrived in 2010 from Europe to begin the tunneling for the Caldecott Tunnel Fourth Bore through the East Bay hills. Over the ensuing two years, the spiked roadheader chewed through several geological formations, including rock dating back to the Miocene period 5 to 23 million years ago, wearing away a total of 4,000 drill teeth in the process. In October of this year, contractors dismantled the massive machine, signaling the completion of the excavation. The bore is now nearly 50 feet wide and 40 feet tall for its entire 3,389-foot length from Oakland to Orinda, and work is shifting from excavation to final concrete work, with the opening scheduled for late 2013. Stay on top of progress at the project's newly revamped website. And watch a video of the final stages of tunneling.
Back to top
|
"Tunnel Vision" Photo Exhibit Travels
While the digging is done, the story of the men who moved mountain and earth to drill the Caldecott Fourth Bore lives on in a collection of gritty photos by Caltrans photographer John Huseby and MTC photographer Karl Nielsen. The "Tunnel Vision" photo exhibit debuted at MTC earlier this year is now traveling to various locations around the East Bay. For a schedule and/or to view the photos, go to the project site. |
This photo by Karl Nielsen of the Caldecott Tunnel Fourth Bore breakthrough won the Grand Prize in an AASHTO photo competition.
|
Meanwhile, photographer Karl Nielsen has been recognized by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) for two stunning photographs he took of the Caldecott Tunnel Fourth Bore construction. His photograph of the breakthrough was selected as the Grand Prize Winner in the Faces of Transportation competition. And his portrait of a Caldecott miner was selected as the winner in the Building the Future category. See more here.
Back to top
|
511 Encourages Transit Riders to Get "Real" This Fall
MTC's 511 Traveler Information Service has a message for transit riders this fall: Instead of waiting and wondering, get real -- as in real-time transit information. 511 has substantially expanded the free real-time transit offerings in recent months, and is making it easier than ever to find out when your next bus or train is departing, in real time. Real-time departures are currently available for BART, AC Transit, San Francisco Muni, WestCAT, the Broadway Shuttle in Oakland and the Dumbarton Express, offering information for more than over 200 routes. A team at MTC is working to incorporate more transit systems into the real-time network in 2013, including SamTrans, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), Caltrain and Golden Gate Transit. Find out how to use the system here.
Back to top
|
New on Video
We've posted several new videos to our website and YouTube page in recent weeks, including the following:
- New Bay Bridge East Span: War on Corrosion
- Walking School Buses Powered by Legs Instead of Wheels
- 511 Hits a Home Run for Giants World Series Victory Parade
View these and more on our website or YouTube page.
Back to top
|
Follow Us on Facebook
Like us on Facebook for news updates, special promotions and more.
Back to top
|
|
|
|
|
|