I thought the Alto Tunnel study was going to start in early spring, it’s now getting half way through summer. Has anybody heard if have started any of the prep work such clearing the path or is Mill Valley going to do some more of their famous song and dance for us.

Here is an early story to bring those who haven’t been following this up to speed.

By Adrian Rodriguez, Marin Independent Journal
POSTED: 11/14/15, 8:08 PM PST | UPDATED: ON 11/16/2015

For more information on the Alto Tunnel study, go to the county’s WalkBikeMarin project site at bit.ly/1N4hoyS.

The completion of the first phase of the Alto Tunnel study has brought relief to bicycle and pedestrian advocates who hope to see it reopened for a pathway they could use.

No decision has been made to reopen the tunnel, but last week county officials released the results of the right-of-way study, detailing the legal title holder information for portions of the old train passage. Eager multi-modal advocates took this as a sign of progress.

“It reaffirmed what we already thought and expected,” said Alisha Oloughlin, planning and programs director of the Marin County Bicycle Coalition. “This was the first step for us to refine the costs of reopening the tunnel.”

While the majority of the old railroad tunnel is public property, it needed to be clear just how much was not. Researchers found that the county is missing rights for three segments within the tunnel, two of which are held by Northwestern Pacific Railroad, and one portion by a private party.

The county Department of Public Works will hold a forum Nov. 17 at the Mill Valley Community Center to review the new research information and receive public input on whether the $500,000 to $1.5 million for future property acquisition is still appropriate. The meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. in the Mountain View Room.

“This isn’t a decision-making point,” said principal engineer Bob Goralka. “It’s just an update, to get the information that we have to the public.”

‘A CRITICAL PROJECT’

Bicycle and pedestrian advocates have long sought for the old Alto Tunnel to be turned into a multi-modal corridor connecting Corte Madera and Mill Valley.

Reopening the closed tunnel could be instrumental in the bicycle coalition’s goal to create a North-South Greenway, a set of paths from the Golden Gate Bridge to Novato, which would promote biking and encourage people to drive less. The end goal is to relieve congestion on Highway 101.

“This is a critical project not just for recreation, but for transportation,” said Mill Valley resident Don Herzog, a founding member of Friends of the Alto Tunnel, an advocacy group that aims to reopen the channel for a bicycle and pedestrian path. “It’s the only possible safe route, north-south, for people 8 to 80.”

To reopen the old Alto Tunnel, officials estimated it would cost $60 million.

However, the intent of the study, conducted by BKF Engineering for $73,000, is to determine the actual cost and viability of the project.

In 1983, the county acquired rights to the center section of Alto Tunnel from what was then called the Northwestern Pacific Railway.

The railroad retains the rights to the north portal extending 490 feet inside, and a segment beginning under the north end of Underhill Road in Mill Valley and extending inside the tunnel 720 feet. The remaining section has been owned by a private individual since 1990.

MAKING INVESTMENTS

The county board four years ago allocated $8.8 million in federal funds for a series of bicycle and pedestrian projects — including $600,000 to study ownership, engineering and cost issues concerning reopening the Alto Tunnel. The spending included $180,000 for boundary, topographic research and a title survey of Alto Tunnel, as well as $420,000 to construct an entry portal at the tunnel, study conditions and determine costs of reopening it.

The next step is a geotechnical study, evaluating the safety of the tunnel and surrounding areas to help further refine costs, Goralka said.

The tunnel served as a single-track railway for nearly 90 years. The tunnel remained open until 1971, when bulkheads were added at each portal to block entry.

In 1975, a plug was added near the north end of the tunnel, and in 1982, a collapse at the southern portal was stabilized with gravel and earth fill.

For Herzog, reopening the tunnel is an investment for the county.

“If you stabilize the land and reopen the tunnel, you have something that will be used for years,” he said. “This money is going to be spent some place, let’s spend it here.”

Oloughlin agreed.

“We were successful in getting the Cal Park Tunnel open,” Oloughlin said. “This is a top priority for us.”