McNerney: Valley Link can be a lifeline to both Central Valley and BART

Each day, an estimated 105,000 commuters rise early to brave one of the worst commutes in California: the Altamont Pass. About 4:30 a.m., rivers of cars and trucks flow slowly westbound on Interstates 580 and 205 before merging into a massive sea of traffic for the climb over the mountain grade.

On average, commuters spend about 70 minutes in bumper-to-bumper traffic on their way from Tracy and other communities in San Joaquin County to jobs in the Bay Area. On bad days, it can taketwo to three hours. The evening commute is just as bad, or worse.

But there’s a viable solution to this daily ordeal: Valley Link, a zero-emission hydrogen-powered train system that would connect tens of thousands of commuters each day from the Central Valley to the Dublin-Pleasanton BART station.

Yet, even though Valley Link would help ease traffic throughout much of the region and bolster BART, it is often overlooked.

To read the full op-ed, click here.