Caltrain Track Work to Require Detour in San Mateo

Caltrain construction work will require a detour at the Ninth Avenue grade crossing in San Mateo the weekends of April 18 - 20 and May 2 - 5.

The weekend work beginning April 18 will only require a single lane closure, the following weekend lanes in both directions will be closed at the Ninth Avenue grade crossing.

Crews will be realigning the tracks and installing a new crossover switch between Fifth and Ninth avenues. This work is being done to improve Caltrain operating flexibility and efficiency and to prepare the rail corridor for future Baby Bullet express service.

The detour, which will be in place beginning Friday at 7 p.m. through Monday at 6 a.m., will direct drivers to use B Street, Fifth Avenue and South Claremont Street to bypass construction.

Drivers headed east on Ninth Avenue should detour left onto B Street, right onto Fifth Avenue and right onto South Claremont Street. Drivers headed west on Ninth Avenue should turn right onto South Claremont Street, left onto Fifth Avenue and left onto B Street to bypass construction.

The CTX project, the largest rail improvement in Caltrain's history, is modernizing Caltrain to meet current and future challenges. The project will result in a centralized traffic control system, known as CTC, passing tracks in three locations along the rail line and track rehabilitation. CTC eliminates the need to manually operate track switches, a key to decreasing travel time. When the improvements are completed in the spring of 2004, Caltrain will be able to offer safer, more flexible service, including Baby Bullet express service between San Francisco and San Jose.