Tracy Press - Bulldozers in the Bow Tie

November 20, 2008 Tracy, CA

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Bulldozers in the Bow Tie

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Written by Jon Mendelson
Wednesday, 18 June 2008
Crews clean up railroad contamination today, as work begins on transit hub. Crews fill trucks with soil contaminated with lead and arsenic from the ground around the Union Pacific rail lines near Sixth Street today as crews begin the work for what will become the new multi modal station. Glenn Moore/Tracy Press For several days, Tracy’s Bow Tie area has buzzed with bulldozers and heavy-duty trucks, a sure sign that cleanup has begun on the contaminated site and that work will soon begin on the city’s awaited multimodal transit station. In the past week, crews hired by Union Pacific Railroad fenced off land east of Central Avenue sandwiched between Sixth Street to the north and Fourth Street to the south to clear soil contaminated with arsenic, oil and lead from years of railroad use. The effort is part of a deal struck between Tracy and the rail company when the city bought UP land in the Bow Tie area for $1.4 million in December 2006. Soil contaminated with lead and arsenic awaits removal from the ground around the Union Pacific rail lines near Sixth Street. Glenn Moore/Tracy Press “We bought the property from Union Pacific on the condition that they will provide us a clean property,” said Paul Verma, the city’s assistant engineer. “Basically, they’re removing 12 inches of the soil from the existing soil and then bringing in clean dirt … and the site will be clean.” UP was already in negotiations with the state to decontaminate the area, according to Rod Buchanan, interim director for Tracy’s Parks and Community Services Department. But a provision in the sales agreement between UP and the city stated that the cleanup on the multimodal area must be completed by July 1. The rest of the Bow Tie area will be decontaminated at a later date. A worker keeps dust down on a pile of contaminated soil today. Glenn Moore/Tracy Press Verma said that Stockton firm Roek Construction will begin work on the transit hub as soon as the site is cleared and should be completed within 14 months. Buchanan said an official groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled July 11. The project’s total cost of $12.3 million includes land purchase, environmental review, construction and furnishing, Buchanan said. However, the city’s share is only $250,000, owing to years of work hunting down alternative funding sources. “We’re pretty excited about the funding,” Buchanan said. Soil contaminated with lead and arsenic awaits removal today. Glenn Moore/Tracy Press The transit station benefits from $7.3 million in funds from the State Transportation Improvement program and more than $4.1 million from a multimodal transit section of Measure K, the voter-approved half-cent San Joaquin County sales tax in effect since 1991. A $565,000 grant from Proposition 1B bond money, specifically earmarked for the project’s two parking lots, will also be funneled from the state through the San Joaquin Council of Governments. Buchanan said that, once completed, the yet-to-be-named multimodal station will allow people easier access to public transportation and hopefully help reduce pollution and traffic, as the city’s bus fleet has transitioned from diesel fuel to cleaner-burning natural gas. “It’s going to be a great amenity for our community,” he said. “It’s going to be another catalyst for improving the vitality of downtown — it’s going to bring people downtown utilizing different modes of transportation.” Set as favorite Bookmark Email This Hits: 992 Trackback(0) TrackBack URI for this entry Comments (11) Subscribe to this comment's feed Show/Hide comments ... written by Tracy RealNews , June 19, 2008 Good to see they were able to clean up that contaminated soil and that the city got a heckofa deal(s)... Now the city can proceed with their plans to build that train station. Buchanan said that, once completed, the yet-to-be-named multimodal station will allow people easier access to public transportation and hopefully help reduce pollution and traffic, as the city’s bus fleet has transitioned from diesel fuel to cleaner-burning natural gas. Going green also means more revenue for the city. Like it!!! Cheers! ... written by Dave Hardesty , June 19, 2008 Yes, this is very good news. Removing of contaminated materials regardless of what the end line intention for using the site is always good news. Now if we could only get Standard Oil to do the same thing across Tracy Blvd from Boyd station. Dave Hardesty ... written by amy , June 19, 2008 THINGS ARE HAPPENING IN TRACY!!! Do things right the first time, saves lots of money, no short cuts, the clean up proves it! I am really enthused and encouraged to see evidence of hard work put into it by WHOM? KUDOS TO THOSE WHO DESERVE THE CREDIT FOR ALL THE HARD WORK. You voters can decide who made this possible by doing your own homework. -amy ... written by amy , June 19, 2008 Those, with respiratory problems, who plan to stroll by the area to watch the removal of toxic dirt would be best adviced not to watch without wearing the protective face mask to prevent breathing in airborne arsenics and other contaminants. Thanks ... written by Tracy RealNews , June 20, 2008 Tom, Is it ok to ask questions here, transparently? I wonder if TRAQC is behind all the dirt? Just keep digging! Post it all right here transparently, please! Thanks! ... written by amy , June 20, 2008 Maybe the Holly site will supply surplus funds to make the infill for more attractive for those who arrive on the rail and depart the rail, let's make the area memorable for those who arrive and depart. Do you know who is member of the TRAQC? Sure would like to know. -amy ... written by amy , June 20, 2008 Gosh, I still cannot fathom their thinking, that Alvarez would be the preferred site!!! I would not take my grandmother to the Alvarez park! She bikes, too! -amy ... written by amy , June 20, 2008 Retracting my statement about biking on Alvarez, just remembered they won't have wetlands to bike around, or even have bike trails? -amy ... written by fortheunderdog , June 22, 2008 How deep are constructions crews digging to remove the contaminated soil? The ground beneath U.S. Steel, in Union City, was contaminated from sludge, lead, etc and I believe construction removal crews had to dig as deep as 10" in some areas to remove contamination to acceptable levels. What's the acceptable level in the Bow Tie area? ... written by tracy209resident , June 22, 2008 These comments are all fine and dandy for people who do not live on that street. The citizens of Tracy all voted against building there over a year ago and yet there it is. Familys of lived there for over 4 generations do not find it very appealing, we already have a train station. All they have to do is impove it. Also if the land was so contaminated why were the residents on 4th street never notified? Can someone please answer me that? ... written by fortheunderdog , June 23, 2008 You're perfectly right to ask why residents near the excavation site were not notified before to possible contamination risks. You'd think that the construction crews are just going to stir up some dust to blow towards those homes in the area. Is there a risk from the contaminated dust? I'd certainly ask questions if I lived in the area. Of course, city government will probably tell you that everything is ok when in fact it isn't. They have to get their snazzy train depot built, you know? If we had an election today I'd vote "NO CONFIDENCE" for our city government. 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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 18 June 2008 )