Caltrain grade separation

  • Project typeTraffic and transportation
Bicyclist-stops-while-Caltrain-engine-passes-Ravenswood-Avenue-intersection.jpg

The first phase of this project evaluated the engineering feasibility of grade separating the at grade railroad crossings in Menlo Park. The current phase of work will develop design documents and environmental review for the preferred alternative. This project is funded in part by a grant from the San Mateo County Transportation Authority Measure A Grade Separation Program.

Current status

The City is working with the San Mateo County Transportation Authority on funding for the design and environmental phase. The Menlo Park grade separation project is a pipeline project identified within the Measure A grade separation program.  The City is working with Caltrain on an agreement to pursue these design and environmental review phases of work, which will be led by Caltrain in coordination with the City.

Feasibility Study

On March 5, 2019, City Council approved the final project study report(PDF, 6MB) with the hybrid option (Alternative C) grade separating Ravenswood, Oak Grove and Glenwood Avenues as the preferred alternative. Encinal Avenue would remain open and at-grade under this alternative. Following from this work, the City Council directed staff to evaluate a fully elevated alternative to grade separation. This work was put on hold during the COVID-19 pandemic and was restarted in 2022.  On Feb. 28, the City Council reviewed a preliminary evaluation of the fully elevated alternative and directed staff to continue with the current locally preferred alternative.

In October 2019, staff submitted an application in response to the California Public Utilities Commission's Section 190 request for projects to prioritize this project location. Staff submitted an application to renew the City’s status on the Section 190 list in 2021 and the project is currently ranked fourth in the state.

Additional studies

Due to community feedback received when selecting the City's preferred alternative, City Council directed staff and the project team to develop a scope of work to further evaluate a fully elevated alternative. That draft scope of work was approved in January 2020, but subsequently put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On October 18, 2022, the City Council approved a revised scope of work and directed staff to coordinated with members of the public on potential additional studies of impacts of a fully elevated alternative. 

 

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Location

554 Ravenswood Ave., Menlo Park, CA 94025  View map

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