Caltrain ups capital budget for critical bridge project

Caltrain Director of Budgets Oscar Quintanilla said that the $10 million, approved on Jan. 8, would come from a future allocation by the San Francisco County Transportation Authority. Santa Clara and San Mateo County also committed to the additional contributions, though the latter’s is conditional upon San Francisco’s contribution, Quintanilla said.

“[It would] leave us still with a $10 million funding gap that staff is working to resolve,” Quintanilla said.

Most of the project involves replacing an older wooden bridge on the northbound side and extending and improving the southbound bridge across the Guadalupe River. The project has undergone a series of twists and turns. While general cost escalations, especially in a high-inflation environment, are out of the agency’s control, the severity and frequency of the increases have raised concern by board members over the agency’s approach to how it develops estimates and delivers projects.

The long-standing grade separation project near Burlingame’s Broadway station — often considered the most dangerous rail crossing in the state — saw updated project estimates more than double from 2022, going from $316 million to $889 million as of 2025. A pared-down version of the project brought down the price tag to about $615 million, but it still drew ire from many elected officials, especially in Burlingame.

In December, Shamann Walton, Caltrain board member and San Francisco supervisor, also penned a letter to Caltrain, stating “ San Francisco would not support additional member contributions, including capital funding for the Guadalupe River Bridges Replacement Project,” until the agency started working toward establishing itself as an independent agency that is not managed by SamTrans. The letter triggered concerns from other board members over leveraging critical project funds for such a request, however, the board unanimously approved the additional budget increase Jan. 8.