Photo simulation of future underpass at Paseo Padre Parkway

The Grade Separation Project will build an overpass on Washington Boulevard between Bruce Drive and Roberts Avenue and an underpass on Paseo Padre Parkway between Shadowbrooke Common Road and Hancock Drive to separate car and pedestrian traffic from railroad crossings. The project also will relocate about one and a half miles of the active Union Pacific railroad tracks up to 500 feet to the east of where they are now in the area between Paseo Padre Parkway and Washington Boulevard.

The Grade Separation Project is the largest public works project undertaken by the City of Fremont. Extensive effort has gone into arranging for project funding, negotiating with Union Pacific Railroad on alignment issues, acquiring right of way, conducting technical and environmental studies, engaging in a public input process, and coordinating with BART, numerous utility companies and other agencies.

Photo simulation of future overpass at Washington Boulevard

Project Benefits

The Grade Separation Project will help improve safety and traffic delays and eliminate the need for trains to sound their horns when approaching and crossing Washington Boulevard and Paseo Padre Parkway.

In turn, eliminating traffic backups at train crossings will help reduce cut-through traffic on neighborhood streets and improve safety in the area by separating vehicles from the railroad tracks.

In addition, the project will facilitate extension of BART from the Downtown Fremont Station to a new station in Warm Springs to proceed at grade within the current railroad right of way. The grade separation would allow BART to travel over Paseo Padre Parkway on a bridge structure and continue at grade, passing under the grade-separated Washington Avenue. Click here to see a project map that shows the BART alignment.

An optional, potential future Irvington station (pending availability of funding), would be located just south of Washington Boulevard near Osgood Road, approximately midway between the Downtown Fremont and Warm Springs stations.

Read more on the BART Warm Spring Extension.

What is a Grade Separation?

Grade separations are physical structures such as overpasses or underpasses that divide two opposing traffic movements, such as what motorists experience at intersections or at railroad crossings. The separation allows traffic to occur without interruption or need for warning signals. The Fremont Grade Separation project will separate car and pedestrian traffic from rail traffic to improve traffic flow, minimize delays, and eliminate the need for warning signals or train horns.