City Holds Second Public Meeting About A Possible Overcrossing To Waterfront Park

City staff has developed five possible routes for an overcrossing to Waterfront Park, and those five routes will be the subject of a public meeting Wednesday, Aug. 1 at 6 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers, 525 Henrietta St.

The city is looking at a two-phase project for the overcrossing over the Southern Pacific railroad tracks – the first of which would be for pedestrians and bicycles, the second for vehicles. A kick-off meeting was held in May to introduce the study and project team and to take questions and comments from members of the public. At the next meeting information will be provided on the alternatives studied and the reason five alternatives were selected for further study.

The goal of the eight-month project will be to determine if a secondary overcrossing to support pedestrian, bicycle and vehicular traffic is feasible. 

 “This study represents the first step in determining the best way to develop a secondary connection to the Waterfront which is exciting and vital to the development of the Martinez Marina and park areas which will benefit downtown Martinez,” said Tim Tucker, City Engineer. 

He added that an overcrossing could provide safer railroad crossing conditions, reduce traffic congestion and delays, and provide better emergency vehicle response and patrol of the park. 

Since no funding source has been identified yet, and the construction of an overpass is expected to be many millions of dollars, the project is not expected to come to fruition for several years, at best.