Politics & Government
BART Thanks Voters For Passing Measure RR
The $3.5 billion bond measure will be used to repair leaking tunnels, worn-out rails and train equipment, officials said.
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA – BART officials are thanking voters for approving Measure RR, the $3.5 billion regional bond measure to help improve BART's transit infrastructure.
Voters in San Francisco, Alameda and Contra Costa counties voted Tuesday to pass the measure, giving BART a much-needed infusion of cash to improve and repair the aging transit system.
"We are grateful for all the Bay Area voters who doubled down on their commitment to transit and to BART," BART board President Tom Radulovich said in a statement Wednesday.
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The measure required a two-thirds majority to win approval and voters in the three counties passed it with 70.1 percent of ballots cast. San Francisco voters passed it with 81.1 percent of the vote, Alameda County
voters passed it with 70.8 percent, and just 59.5 percent of Contra Costa County voters approved it.
"Thank you, Bay Area, for affirming the need to replace this 44-year-old train system's worn rail, train control equipment, leaking tunnels and power transmission infrastructure," Radulovich said. "By reinvesting in BART, Bay Area voters said yes to a regional future that's more equitable, sustainable, inclusive, connected and prosperous."
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Infrastructure to be improved includes 90 miles of severely worn tracks, water-damaged tunnels and 44-year-old train control systems, among other projects.
BART officials have said the bond measure was necessary to upgrade the system, which has many components still in place from its construction in the 1970s.
Opponents of the measure have said the agency hasn't made reinvestment in the infrastructure a priority, instead focusing on expansion to the South Bay and elsewhere.
Roughly two-thirds of BART's capital budget is now devoted to system improvements rather than expansion.
