Community Corner

Water Pipeline Work Slows Traffic on Cedar Boulevard

Construction on Hetch Hetchy water delivery system continues in Newark.

A project involving the installation of a new water pipeline that crosses through Newark has caused lane closures on a busy street in the south side of town.

Partial lane closures on Cedar Boulevard between Central and Mowry avenues were in effect this week as construction continues to install 6-foot-wide welded steel pipe that is part of a 167-mile system bringing water from the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park to San Francisco.

As of Thursday, all lanes are open on Cedar Boulevard but Cedar Court will remain closed for at least two more months, according to Peggy Claassen, public works director for the City of Newark.

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Road signs directed motorists to slow down to 25 miles per hour this week as they approached an area that was repaved.

The goal of the project it to improve the Hetch Hetchy water system, which is owned and operated by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (PUC).

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Four pipelines and a tunnel make up the water system that provides drinking water to San Francisco and some other Bay Area communities. The Alameda County Water District, which serves Newark and Union City and Fremont, gets 20 percent of its water from this system. In all, the system provides drinking water to 2.5 million Bay Area residents.

Crews from contractor Ranger Pipelines Inc. have been working on installing a new, fifth pipeline that stretches seven miles from Mission Boulevard in Fremont to Newark’s shoreline on San Francisco Bay.

Construction in Newark is 92 percent complete, according to Joe Ortiz, project manager.

The project, known as the Bay Division Pipeline Reliability Upgrade Project, involves installing a new pipeline parallel to the four current pipes. One of the major reasons for the installation of a new pipeline is seismic safety, Ortiz said.

As it stands, there is a 50 percent chance that the SFPUC can provide drinking water to its customers within 24 hours of an earthquake. The new pipeline increases that to a 95 percent probability, Ortiz said.

The first two original pipelines that run through Newark were installed in 1925 and 1936.

“They’re old. They need to be supplemented with a new pipe. That way we know it will survive an earthquake,” Ortiz said.

The $4.6 billion project is funded through the voter-approved Water System Improvement Program, which includes approximately 80 projects, Claassen said.

The main impacts of the project have been traffic detours. The SFPUC has worked closely with the city to minimize inconveniences, Claassen said.

Final stages of the project involve tunneling under Interstate 880. That is currently under way, Ortiz said.

The part of the project that lies within Newark is scheduled to be completed by December, Ortiz added.

To learn more about the Bay Division Pipeline Reliability Upgrade Project, click here.


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