Caldecott Tunnel's New Fourth Bore Is Open

A 50-year daily headache for East Bay drivers is ending as the Caldecott Tunnel's new fourth bore opened to the public.

Caltrans held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday afternoon on the eastbound entrance to the tunnel near Orinda.

Officials said the $417 million new bore would open to the public on Saturday morning because final safety and emergency tests were completed this week and the safety plan was signed on Friday morning.

And indeed, the CHP reported on Saturday morning that the fourth bore opened at 4:25 a.m.

Construction on the tunnel began in January 2010. The project is being finished ahead of schedule and under budget.

The project received $194 million in federal Recovery Act grants. Money also came from State Proposition 1B, approved by voters in 2006, as well as Contra Costa County Measure J funds and Regional Measure 2 funds.

Caltrans officials said the fourth bore has a regional lifeline structure designed to reopen with 72 hours of a major earthquake. It also has state-of-the-art fire and life safety systems. The third and fourth bores are also linked by seven passageways to allow people to escape on foot during emergencies.

It's the first addition to the Caldecott Tunnel since 1964, when the third bore was opened. Since then, Caltrans workers have raised and lowered cones and shut down lanes twice a day as they switched the Caldecott's middle bore from westbound to eastbound traffic.

Now, there will be two tunnels for each direction of traffic 24 hours a day. The tunnel handles 160,000 cars on an average weekday.

Friday's ceremony was the first traffic jam for the tunnel. More than 100 people attended the event, including politicians and dignitaries from all over the Bay Area as well as Sacramento and the White House.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said the fourth bore is a shining example of how federal recovery funds are helping the economy as well as traffic flow.

"It's one of our largest projects and today it is complete," he said.

Rep. George Miller (D-Concord) joked that the new bore will eliminate a lot of cussing and arguing in cars when drivers realize they are coming up on the tunnel when only two lanes are open in their direction.

"We've all lived through that," said Miller.

He also praised the work crews as well as the various agencies and organizations that worked on the tunnel.

"This is the result and it's fabulous," he said.

State Sen. Mark DeSaulnier (D-Concord) was at the ceremony. He released a statement before the event, praising the work done on the project.

“This is the kind of project that voters expect when they approve new funds for infrastructure," said DeSaulnier. "Construction of the fourth bore was on-time, on-budget and will alleviate congestion for thousands of commuters. I thank the commuters for supporting this project and waiting patiently for the fourth bore to open.”

State Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) pointed out the tunnel will eliminate 12 minutes of idling time for cars that used to be stuck in traffic outside the Caldecott, resulting in less air pollution.

"This is doing to do great things," she said.

"This is going to have a tremendous impact on the quality of life for everyone," added state Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan (D-Alamo).

Orinda Mayor Amy Rein Worth, who is also the chairwoman of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, also spoke at the ribbon cutting.

"The opening of the new tunnel heralds not only a huge increase in the reliability of travel to and from Contra Costa County but an important boost for the regional economy as both commuters and freight move more efficiently," said Worth.

Beforehand, Lafayette Mayor Mike Anderson said the new bore is a "big deal" for the Lamorinda area. He said it will help people driving from the East Bay to Oakland and San Francisco in the afternoon as well as motorists coming to Lamorinda in the morning.

"We depend on good transportation at this tunnel," he said.

Walnut Creek Mayor Cindy Silva echoed those sentiments, especially for people who are coming to her city.

"We are delighted they can get here faster," she said.