Engineering Geology of the BART System (2000)

&gt; In the late 1960s annual inflation approached 7%, more than double the economic predictions utilized in the original plans back in 1962. From mid-1967 onward, the system fought one financial crisis after another, struggling to remain afloat [...] The actual construction figure ended up being about $1.6 billion, $315 million of which came from the Federal government.<p>1.6 Bil in 1969 dollars translates to 13.6 Bil in 2024 dollars.<p>Oftentimes I hear complaints that today&#x27;s projects cost too much, or I come across ballot measures where the other side is always like &quot;something something we have no moneys&quot; such as Prop 4 in California [1]. Sometimes reading about the past puts the present in perspective.<p>[1] - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;ballotpedia.org&#x2F;California_Proposition_4,_Parks,_Environment,_Energy,_and_Water_Bond_Measure_(2024)" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;ballotpedia.org&#x2F;California_Proposition_4,_Parks,_Env...</a>

&gt; The BART rolling stock set new standards as well. These were the first rapid transit rail cars to use big picture windows, carpeting in lieu of tile, to provide cushioning for sound and sight, no overhead storage bins, no station advertising and no smoking in any of the cars, which reduced ventilation costs by $1000 per car and lowered the car&#x27;s profile by 12 inches (ventilation is taken through the window sills).<p>This is in the 1960s too, so before the anti-smoking movement had any real wins. In retrospect, it’s crazy that smoking was ever as widespread as it was in buildings, looking at its ventilation impacts. Perhaps an underrated driver for why smoking bans succeeded could be the increasing requirements of mechanical ventilation for modern buildings and vehicles, making the monetary benefits of stopping smoking more immediately compelling for infrastructure managers.<p>I think it’s also underrated that smoking bans wouldn’t have made much sense until burning of wood and coal to heat buildings stopped - many wood and coal fireplaces and furnaces let out far more secondhand smoke into the building interior and exterior than tobacco smoking could ever hope to match.

I love this deep lore on BART! The fact that the trans bay tube is literally a big welded metal tube continues to fascinate me. When I first learned about that I had never realized that was even possible. There’s some great history on YouTube about BART too.

I love that this is hosted in a home directory for user mly in the old school style of allowing users to serve public data at `~username`<p>OG.

&gt; Sonoma, Santa Clara, Solano and Napa Counties were not taken into the original district because planners did not perceive a need for commuter transit service from outlying areas.<p>In the first phase of the project. They definitely planned with them in mind:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.flickr.com&#x2F;photos&#x2F;walkingsf&#x2F;4114498342&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.flickr.com&#x2F;photos&#x2F;walkingsf&#x2F;4114498342&#x2F;</a> (1956)<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.flickr.com&#x2F;photos&#x2F;walkingsf&#x2F;4080507945&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.flickr.com&#x2F;photos&#x2F;walkingsf&#x2F;4080507945&#x2F;</a> (1957)