Some traffic lanes, driveways and sections of sidewalk along San Pablo Avenue will be closed in phases in Berkeley and Albany over roughly the next year, as part of an effort to improve access and mobility for people with disabilities, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) said.
The work to bring curbs into compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) will begin in mid-April, the agency said.
There will be designated pedestrian access routes and signs “to guide pedestrians around the construction activities,” according to a prepared statement from the agency Thursday.
Workers may close vehicle travel lanes temporarily, but will not close more than a single lane at any one time, Caltrans said. Closures will take place from 7 p.m. up until noon, or until 11 a.m. on Saturdays. There may also be some parking restrictions around work areas, with signs indicating when and where.
The process will begin mid-April and go in three phases in either direction on San Pablo, Janis Mara, a regional spokesperson for Caltrans, said in an email:
- Phase 1: Work will progress northward on the east side of San Pablo from Ashby Avenue to University Avenue, estimated to take about a month
- Phase 2: Over two months, Caltrans will work from University to Harrison Street, near the border between Berkeley and Albany
- Phase 3: Caltrans will work from Harrison Street through Albany to the edge of Alameda County over the next two months
“Then we turn around and start going southward, doing the west side of San Pablo and duplicating the earlier stages,” Mara said. The timing may get thrown off by rain, material shortages or any “other unforeseen developments,” Mara said.
Caltrans will only work on sections of sidewalk or driveways not already ADA-compliant, so that people with disabilities can better navigate the area, according to the agency. It will directly notify any businesses that will be affected.
