Contra Costa Herald

News Of By and For The People of Contra Costa County, California

Former Antioch Police Officer and Wife, a Pittsburg Teacher Plead Guilty in Tax Fraud Scheme

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Ana and Gary Bostick. Photo by www.nicolebartonphotography.com

Pittsburg residents face up to 20 year prison sentences; eight others including three more Contra Costa County residents also indicted in conspiracy

OAKLAND – The U.S. Justice Department’s Northern District of California announced, today, Thursday, June 15, 2017 that former Antioch police officer Gary Bostick and his wife, Ana Bostick, pleaded guilty to their respective roles in a scheme to illegally obtain money from the United States announced United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Special Agent in Charge Michael T. Batdorf.

Also indicted in the conspiracy were nine others, including three other residents of Contra Costa County. The indictment, unsealed on Dec. 9, 2015, charges the following additional defendants:

  • Hugh Robinson, of Richmond
  • Devonnie Davison, of San Pablo
  • Brandon Robinson, of El Cerrito
  • Ronald Blake, of Fort Worth, TX
  • Kyadrian Dennis, of Fort Worth, TX
  • William Odom, of Berkeley
  • Jamia Lewis, of Fairfield
  • Janel McDonald, of Los Angeles
  • Everardo Laurian, of Daly City

According to the indictment, from at least August 21, 2013, through April 27, 2015, the defendants conspired with one another to commit offenses against the United States, including theft of government money.  The scheme involved obtaining the names of deceased individuals, filing false tax returns in the names of the individuals, obtaining false identifications, and illegally cashing U.S. Treasury checks.

(Related press release: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/pr/eleven-defendants-named-seventy-one-count-indictment-charging-conspiracy-commit-theft)

Gary Bostick, 39, and Ana Bostick, 37, both of Pittsburg, pleaded guilty to their respective roles the conspiracy.  The Honorable Jeffery S. White, United States District Judge, accepted Ana Bostick’s guilty plea on Tuesday, June 13, 2017, and accepted Gary Bostick’s guilty plea this morning. 6/16/17 UPDATE: Gary Bostick worked for the Antioch Police Department from July 30, 2007 to April 29, 2015 according to Nickie Mastay, Director of Human Resources for the City of Antioch. Ana Bostick is listed as a teacher at Black Diamond High School in the Pittsburg Unified School District. But there is no photo or information about her on the school’s webpage. On Friday morning, June 16, 2017, Nicole Mora, District Communications Public Relations Specialist said she had “learned about this, this morning”, was “looking into it” and waiting to speak with the principal and others before commenting. Please check back later for more details.

Then, in a later email received Friday afternoon, Mora released the following statement from the district: “Ana Bostick is employed by Pittsburg Unified School District as a teacher. Her current employment status for the 2017/2018 school year is a personnel matter and we have no other details to release at this time.”

According to the Bosticks’ plea agreements, between January and April of 2015, the conspiracy involved filing false federal income tax returns in order to obtain fraudulent federal income tax refunds and cashing stolen U.S. Treasury checks at Walmart stores throughout the United States.  Specifically, Gary Bostick admitted that in January 2015, he assisted in filing false tax returns with the IRS in the names of deceased individuals.  The defendants obtained names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers from websites such as www.rootsweb.ancestry.com and www.ssnvalidator.com.  In order to receive payment, the conspirators directed the IRS to mail the fraudulently obtained U.S. Treasury checks to addresses he and his co-conspirators could access.  The conspirators cashed the U.S. Treasury checks at various Walmart stores.

Ana Bostick admitted that she aided her co-conspirators by, among other things, cashing two U.S. Treasury checks.  Ana Bostick admitted she requested another co-conspirator to send her photos of the two U.S. Treasury checks so that she could use the information on the checks to obtain fake identification that matched the names.  After obtaining the fake identifications, Ana Bostick cashed the two checks and kept the corresponding funds.

Gary Bostick’s participation in the scheme included traveling with two co-conspirators to Los Angeles to obtain stolen U.S. Treasury checks and then to Walmart stores in various areas, including Kentucky, to cash the checks.  The former police officer acknowledged that he supervised other individuals in the scheme, including managers and runners, who were responsible for cashing the fraudulent or stolen U.S. Treasury checks.  In sum, the conspiracy involved $720,530.40 in stolen U.S. Treasury checks.

On November 15, 2015, a federal grand jury indicted Gary Bostick, Ana Bostick, and their co-conspirators.  For her part in the scheme, Ana Bostick was charged with conspiracy to commit theft of public money, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371; two counts of theft of public money, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 641; and two counts of aggravated identity theft, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1028A.  She pleaded guilty to all charges.  For his part in the scheme, Gary Bostick was charged with conspiracy to commit theft of public money, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371; four counts of wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343; and four counts of aggravated identity theft, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1028A.  He pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge and to the wire fraud charges.  Pursuant to the plea agreement, the identity theft charges were dismissed.

Judge White scheduled Gary Bostick’s sentencing for September 19, 2017, and Ana Bostick’s sentencing for November 14, 2017.  The maximum sentence for conspiracy to commit theft of public money is five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.  The maximum sentence for theft of public money is ten years in prison and a fine of $250,000.  The maximum sentence for wire fraud is 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.  The maximum sentence for aggravated identity theft is a mandatory minimum of two years in prison and a fine of $250,000.  However, any sentence will be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas Newman and Jose A. Olivera and Trial Attorney Gregory Bernstein are prosecuting this case with assistance from Jonathan Deville of the Tax Division.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation.

County to begin repairs to Alhambra Valley Road washout, June 12th

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Contra Costa County Public Works Director awarded a contract to Flatiron West, Inc. to repair the section of Alhambra Valley Road near Castro Ranch Road and Pinole Valley Road intersection that was washed out during the 2017 winter storms. The work will start on June 12 and is anticipated to be completed by the end of September. The work includes installation of a 60-foot long bridge that will have shoulders for bicycles and pedestrians.

The new bridge over Pinole Creek replaces the 1930’s era 9-foot steel pipe culvert and will allow for unimpeded fish passage, specifically steelhead, in consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service.

For project updates visit the Public Works website at: http://www.cccounty.us/pwdmap.

Protests build against $95 million West County Detention Facility

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Fail to sway Supervisors

By Daniel Borsuk

One-by-one, 64 speakers paraded up to the podium’s microphone, during the board meeting on Tuesday, June 6th, calling on the Contra Costa County Supervisors to overturn their February decision to build the controversial $95 million expansion to the West County Detention Facility in Richmond.

Did the speakers, mostly voicing the need to spend public funds on mental health services outside of jail facilities, convince supervisors to reconsider their action of four months ago?

The answer is most likely not, even though District 1 Supervisor John Gioia of El Cerrito, who was absent at Tuesday’s meeting, had cast the one negative vote in February.  At that time, supervisors had voted 4-1, with Gioia in dissent, to spend $25 million in county funds for the application for the state prison grant.

Supervisors have yet to approve the $70 million grant from the Board of State and Community Corrections.  They could accept the state grant at their meeting later this month, provided the state funding is approved by then.

“Yes, you’ve made up your mind a long time ago,” said Judy Weatherly, a Courageous Resistance of Richmond organization leader.  “I am committed to speak out against you for the rest of my life. You haven’t seen anything yet.”

“A jail is not an appropriate place for providing mental health services,” protested Gordy McCoy of RUBICON of Contra Costa County.  He said mental health services need to be provided outside a jail environment where 90 percent of a jail’s population is of color.

A number of other speakers said the county would be better off spending public funds on desperately needed mental health services in the community instead of in a jail facility.

Board Chair Federal Glover of Pittsburg was the only supervisor to speak at the end of the two-hour public comment session.  “The Sheriff is an independently elected office. We only have control over the budget,” he briefly said.

District 2 Supervisor Candace Andersen of Danville did release to the Contra Costa Herald a copy of an email she has sent to critics about why she supports the jail expansion.

“The unfortunate truth is that when individuals commit crimes they sometimes need to be incarcerated for either their protection or society’s,” she wrote, “and we do not currently have the facilities to treat them and provide the services needed to help them get well and successfully reenter society.  It is impossible to provide these same services in our current jail facilities.”

Supervisor Andersen also cited how the new West County re-entry treatment facility will improve mental health services for inmates by providing comprehensive mental health services to inmates, including for serious offenders requires a higher security setting.

The supervisor also stated the new facility will have a dedicated visitation center separate from the rest of the West County facility and that no “new beds” or new jails are being created.  She wrote 416 beds for West County are replacing 420 beds in the Martinez Detention Center that are being eliminated because of overcrowding.

“Absolutely NO beds are being added for ICE holds,” she wrote

Noisy Animal Ordinance Passes

Supervisors demonstrated they are searching for new streams of revenue in unusual ways by passing a Noise Animal Ordinance at Tuesday’s meeting.  The ordinance was adopted as a consent item.

It’s estimated the new ordinance will draw less than $100,000 in revenue during its initial year of enforcement.

The new ordinance, that goes into effect July 6, means the Contra Costa County Animal Services can cite the owner of a dog in unincorporated Contra Costa County that incessantly barks for more than 30 minutes or intermittently more than 60 minutes day or night.

The fine will be $100 for the first violation, $250 for the second violation, $500 for each violation of the same ordinance within one year.

The ordinance will also apply to owners of roosters and “other noisy animals.”

The ordinance calls for the development of an appeal process.

Supervisors turn focus to high-end housing

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By Daniel Borsuk

The push to build affordable housing in Contra Costa County took a detour when supervisors took two separate actions Tuesday to shore up the county’s housing stock for those with lofty incomes and capable of living in the leafy environs of Lafayette and Kensington.

It was only last month, supervisors had approved a 193-unit, $60 million affordable income apartment development in unincorporated Bay Point at the intersection of Port Chicago Highway and Willow Pass Road.

Lafayette In-Fill Project

Supervisors brushed aside the appeal of Lafayette residents Bruce Last, Hanna Cervenka and Prem Cervenka over the proposed development of nine split level houses on lots in a hilly part of unincorporated Lafayette that would require the removal of 16 trees and 18,000 cubic yards of soil.  Each residential development is projected to sell in excess of $1 million.

The 7.5 – acre site is located at Taylor Boulevard and Gloria Terrace Court.

With lots measuring from 22,600 square feet to 73,301 square feet each, Last, who lives nearby the proposed Gloria Terrace Estates, a joint development of co-owners Gloria Terrace and H. F. Layton, said the hill’s steep slopes presented fire safety access problems for Cal Fire.

“This development presents a fire safety issue with Cal Fire regulations because of the steep slopes where these homes will be constructed,” Last said.

Last also said the split-level design of the proposed new houses are out of character with the area’s single level houses.

Supervisors were informed each house will include sprinklers to minimize fire hazards in the area.  In addition, the hill top will be lowered so that it won’t present privacy problems for those living down the hill.

County Senior Planner Francisco Avila told supervisors since February when the Gloria Terrace Estates was presented to the county planning commission, the developers have agreed to plant 24 new trees because 16 trees will have to be removed for the development.

In addition, the developers, Avila said, agreed to provide six on street parking spaces to help resolve parking problems.  The developers had already agreed to provide three to four guest parking spaces per lot.

New Law Gets Test in Kensington

Some residents in the tony unincorporated community of Kensington are not pleased county supervisors adopted the state’s new law that replaces the term second unit with accessory dwelling unit.

Signed into law, earlier this year, to spark the construction of more housing throughout the Golden State by lowering or eliminating altogether parking requirements while boosting the accessory dwelling unit floor space 30 percent to 50 percent of the attached dwelling unit, the new ordinance is getting its first Contra Costa County test in Kensington, and some residents don’t like what they see coming down the road.

Concerned about potential parking impacts, visual impacts and overcrowding impacts, Kensington resident Joseph Holsom said, “I think this is a step backwards.”

Barbara Holsom predicted there will be other single-family houses like the one she lives across from that will become an Airbnb rental once the county adopts the ADU ordinance that provides more incentives than the old ordinance.  “The owners don’t live there anymore.  The house is used as a motel, “she complained.

Supervisors approved a bulk of the ADU ordinance with the understanding some technical points will be brought back for board action at a later date.

D.A. Peterson announces conviction of suspects in 2016 Richmond hate crime

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On the night of September 25, 2016 Mr. Khalsa was alone in his car, dressed in traditional Sikh clothes on his way to a religious ceremony when occupants of a pickup truck began to throw beer cans at his vehicle while stopped at a red light on Hilltop Road in Richmond CA.

At a subsequent intersection two assailants exited the truck and proceed to repeatedly punch Mr. Khalsa in the face through his driver’s side window.  Mr. Khalsa’s turban was displaced during the attack and the assailants proceeded to force Mr. Khalsa’s head down and cut his unshorn hair- a sacred article of his religious faith.

Mr. Khalsa sustained a swollen black eye, numerous damaged teeth, and several knife wounds to his left hand.  A penetrating knife wound caused nerve damage and required stitches.  Due to an infection from the knife wound, Mr. Khalsa’s pinky finger was amputated.

On Thursday May 18, 2017 Defendants Chase Little and Colton Leblanc, residents of Texas entered pleas of no contest to felony assault and a hate crime enhancement for the attack upon Richmond, CA resident Maan Singh Khalsa, an observer of the Sikh faith.  The two were sentenced to three years in state prison.

“The recognition of the attack as a hate crime – as harm to my dignity and my entire community – is the first step in the process,” said Mr. Khalsa, who recognized his attackers during his statement at the sentencing hearing of the defendants.  He stated: “I still consider you my brothers, and I hope that you will learn about me and my community, and one day consider me your brother, too.”

“This case began with an atrocious event and very few details as to the identity of the perpetrators,” Deputy District Attorney Simon O’Connell stated.  “The successful prosecution of this hate crime came about due to the collaborative investigative work of the Richmond Police Department with the District Attorney’s Office.”

Contra Costa County District Attorney Mark Peterson declared, “Any attack on a person based upon his perceived religion and identity will be vigorously prosecuted.”

 

Contra Costa Sheriff’s Deputies arrest suspect in El Sobrante shooting

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On Wednesday, May 17, 2017, at about 11:13 PM, Deputy Sheriffs were dispatched to a report of a shooting on the 5700 block of Nottingham Drive in El Sobrante.

Deputies discovered several gunshots were apparently fired and that a home was struck by a bullet. A person who lived nearby was identified as a suspect. Several attempts were made to get him to surrender, but he did not comply. The Office of the Sheriff SWAT Team along with negotiators was called to the scene.

At about 4:50 AM today, the suspect was located nearby and taken into custody without incident. He is identified as 37-year-old Robert McKay of El Sobrante. He was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on the following charges: shooting into an uninhabited dwelling, exhibiting a deadly weapon, vandalism, and obstruction. He also had an outstanding arrest warrant. McKay is being held in lieu of $140,000 bail.

Anyone with any information on this case is asked to contact the Office of the Sheriff at (925) 313-2500. For any tips, please email: tips@so.cccounty.us or call (866) 846-3592.

West Contra Costa School Board approves dual-immersion charter school

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By John Crowder

At their board meeting held on Wednesday, April 12, 2017, the West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD, or District) Board approved a petition from Voices College-Bound Language Academies (Voices, Petitioners) to open a charter school in the District with a dual-immersion program on a 4-1 vote.

Due to the number of parents with children in attendance at their meeting in support of the petition, discussion was moved to an earlier time on the agenda.

Dr. Linda Delgado, WCCUSD Charter Oversight, reported on staff’s review of the Voices petition based on a data review and staff rubric findings focused on six possible reasons for denial.

Delgado reported that petitioners offered an unsound educational program, that Petitioners were demonstrably unable to implement the program and that Petitioners did not provide a reasonably comprehensive description of all required elements.  Specifically, she said staff believed the ratio of English only to Spanish only speakers was problematic, details about curriculum and teaching methods were inadequate, and that there was concern about whether Voices would draw Special Education resources away from the District.   She also said that the proposal called for teachers and staff to be paid significantly less than WCCUSD personnel, and that the proposal failed to address standards for suspensions and expulsions.

Public comments followed Dr. Delgado’s presentation.  About a dozen speakers, mostly Hispanic mothers, spoke in favor of the petition.  Nobody spoke in opposition.  One speaker said, “I am a mother who wants the best for my child,” then pleaded for approval to provide an opportunity for her child that she did not have.

WCCUSD board members asked questions and commented on the petition and the review process.

Board Member Tom Panas asked a series of questions involving staff concerns, remarking, “We respect our staff, at the same time, we want to make sure we’re all agreeing on the facts.”  His questions revealed several discrepancies between the staff assessment and Voices explanations of their program, including a rebuttal to the staff report that Voices had submitted.

Responding to Panas’ questions, Voices spokesperson Frances Teso stated that the one year their other schools had had suspensions, the number suspended was less than 1%, and that expulsions were 0%.  She also said that special education staff and providers would be based locally, and that special needs students were fully included in classrooms, while there was, “no reason to believe” that the proposed school would not participate in the same SELPA that other Voices schools participated in.

With respect to teacher pay, Teso said, “In any given step, we pay $2000 to $5000 more than the District pays the teachers here in West Contra Costa County.”  She went on to describe the benefits package offered to teachers by Voices, along with bonuses, above salary, that their teachers were eligible for.

Board Member Mister Phillips expressed his inclination to support the petition because of the openness and honesty of supporters, the equity of having a Spanish-focused program when the District had recently approved a Mandarin program, and because of concerns over the vetting process used by District staff.  “The process did not go the way that I personally think that it should have gone,” he said, “and there are issues around transparency in the process, there are issues around the board getting accurate information.”  Phillips went on to say that he had asked District staff for a response to the Voices rebuttal, “And that response never came.  I don’t know why it didn’t come, but it didn’t.”  Phillips continued, “Then the last thing is, Voices does appear to get results.”

Board President Elizabeth Block weighed in on the staff report, as well.  “I am very troubled by the number of inaccuracies in this report,” she said.  “And I’m especially troubled, that a Superintendent, who I think is doing good things in our District, approved this report.  I think your (staff’s) presentation raises the question of whether or not you could recognize a good school when you see them.”

Delgado responded by saying that staff was fair in their evaluation.  Emphasizing that charter schools must meet high levels of accountability, she said, “The standards by which we are to judge charter schools are not commensurate with the standards with which we may judge our District schools.  They’re different things.  And good practice in charter school evaluation suggests we hold them to very high standards.”

Board Member Madeline Kronenberg also took issue with the staff report.  “I’m not seeing rock-solid evidence in the staff report.  I just have questions.”  She continued, “Normally I would have great difficulty in going against a staff report.  In this case, it’s not that hard.”

Board Clerk Valerie Cuevas expressed concern about the District meeting the needs of students.  “When I hear parents come and speak, what I’m hearing at the heart of it is, ‘you’re not serving us, so I have to go find an alternative.”  She went on to say that, “Our programs must be failing our students and our parents, because they’re seeking alternatives.  The data’s clear that they’re [Voices] outperforming the District…].  She emphasized the need for the District to stop making excuses about why things couldn’t be done, and start working to improve student outcomes.

Following discussion, the board voted 4-1 to approve the Voices petition for a full five-year term.  Board member Phillips, who had advocated for an approval time of three years, was the lone dissenting vote.

Suspect in 2015 North Richmond murder arrested in Mexico

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The Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff announced, on Friday, that a suspect wanted in connection with a murder committed in North Richmond on November 26, 2015 is now in custody.

Guillermo Sanchez was wanted for the killing of 23-year-old Isela Moreno of North Richmond. On Thanksgiving Day 2015, Deputy Sheriffs were dispatched to a re-port of an unknown problem/disturbance at a residence on the 400 block of Market Avenue in North Richmond. The caller advised that there was an injured person. Deputies arrived on scene and found a female who was bleeding from multiple stab wounds. The fire department and an ambulance were called. The victim was later pronounced deceased at the scene. The victim was later identified as Moreno.

Homicide Detectives from the Office of the Sheriff Investigation Division identi-fied the suspect as Sanchez, who fled to Mexico. Detectives worked closely with the U.S. Marshals Service and on January 24, 2017, the U.S. Marshals San Diego Fugitive Task Force of the U.S. Marshals Northern District of California in coordination with the government of Mexico effected the arrest of Sanchez in Guadalajara. He was returned to California.

The 22-year-old Sanchez was booked for murder at the Martinez Detention Facility. He is being held in lieu of $2,050,000 bail.

 

County Health Officials order halt to deliveries at Richmond composting facility due to public nuisance

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Contra Costa Health Services’ Environmental Health division (CCEH), acting for CalRecycle as the Local Enforcement Agency (LEA), has issued a cease-and-desist order to a Richmond composting facility to stop them from accepting new green-waste, food waste or other compostable material until it changes business practices that increase fire danger and cause foul odors in the surrounding community.

The cease-and-desist order was issued on January 24, 2017 after repeated inspections showed that West Contra Costa Sanitary Landfill’s Organic Materials Processing Facility accepted more compostable waste than permitted and unsafely operated the biological manufacturing operation (composting).

“Since September 2016, there have been more than 400 complaints from the surrounding community about odors coming from the facility. Although the odors are not imminently dangerous they do cause a public nuisance and some reports indicated having headache, nausea, throat irritation and breathing problems,” said Dr. Marilyn Underwood, CCEH Director.

CCEH will meet with CalRecyle and the compost facility to ensure the cease-and-desist is done in a manner that does not a create public health nuisance.

Inspectors have repeatedly cited too-high piles of composting material and volumes of material greater than permitted at the facility, and in October 2016 issued an order requiring the operator to stop releasing noxious odors off site. The facility did not comply and was fined $45,000.

“We have been in regular communication with the facility regarding its waste management practices,” Dr. Marilyn Underwood said. “We are not satisfied that the facility operators are doing all that it should to prevent fires or the release of strong odors into the community. We encourage composting but it must be done correctly. ”

Since March 2014, seven fires have been documented in the composting area of the facility on Parr Boulevard, resulting from improperly managed concentrations of organic material.

CCEH has ordered the facility to submit a written plan detailing how it will change its business practices by February 1, and to remove material identified as causing off-site odors to a permitted facility.

Failure to comply with the order may result in additional fines and the permanent loss of the facility’s permit.

The order will not prevent private individuals from bringing waste materials to the facility.

To make a complaint about air pollution or industrial odors in Contra Costa County, call the Bay Area Air Quality Management District at 1-800-344-ODOR (6367).

Construction begins on Richmond-San Rafael Bridge lane project

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Artist’s rendering of the planned bicycle/pedestrian path on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. courtesy of MTC.

Location and highlights of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge access improvements. Credit: Peter Beeler

The Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) has begun construction on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge Access Improvement Project to ease traffic congestion, improve vehicle access to the bridge, and establish a bicycle/pedestrian path connecting Contra Costa and Marin counties.

This exciting project will employ an innovative approach for congestion relief by converting the existing eastbound shoulder to a third lane during evening commute hours. Electronic signs will be used to indicate when the third lane is open to eastbound motorists. After the third lane is completed (weather-permitting in late 2017), a bicycle/pedestrian path will be built on the upper deck to connect critical portions of the San Francisco Bay Trail.

Beginning this week, travelers will see the installation of temporary striping and barriers (k-rail) to protect construction workers along eastbound 580.

  • Shoulder Closures –The right shoulder of the eastbound Richmond San Rafael Bridge will be closed from 5am to 2pm daily during the week of Jan. 23. Both traffic lanes will remain open.
  • Nighttime Construction– Through Saturday morning, Jan. 28, temporary striping and barriers (k-rail) will be installed along both eastbound and westbound I-580 from Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in Marin County to Castro Street in Contra Costa County. One lane will remain open at all times
  • Bicycle Shuttle By Request – Starting Thursday January 26, the existing bicycle access on 580 between Marine Street and Stenmark Drive in Richmond will no longer be available. In lieu of freeway access, a free shuttle with bike racks will be available from 7am to 7pm. PLEASE NOTE: The shuttle may take up to 20 minutes to arrive once called (510-715-1465). Cyclists will no longer have access to freeway shoulders.

During the week of Jan. 30:

  • Main Street Eastbound On / Off Ramp Closures – Temporary nighttime closures of the eastbound I-580 Main Street on- and off-ramps in San Rafael will occur. The San Quentin/Main Street off-ramp will be closed from 7pm to 6am; and the on-ramp will be closed from 9pm to 6am. Please see detour maps below.

February Nighttime Construction

  • Starting in February, the contractor will relocate a water main under Main Street between Francisco Blvd. and the eastbound I-580 on- and off-ramps. Construction will occur at night to minimize traffic impacts.

Notice: This information is based on the work plans submitted by the contractors which are subject to change for various reasons. For the most current information on all lane and ramp closures please check the web site shown below before beginning your travel.

You are receiving this e-mail as a courtesy from the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge Access Improvement Project. We send out notifications when contractors on the project plan a lane closure or construction activity that may have an effect on traffic in the vicinity. If you no longer wish to receive these notifications, please respond to this e-mail and state that you would like to be removed from the distribution list.

For More Information

For more information or to see a video about the project, please click here. If you have additional questions about the project or construction updates, please call the project hotline at (510) 273-3640.

The Richmond-San Rafael Bridge Access Improvement Project is made possible by a partnership between BATA, Caltrans, the Contra Costa County Transportation Authority (CCTA), and the Transportation Authority of Marin (TAM).

About the RSR Bridge:

Over the last 50 years, the Richmond San Rafael (RSR) Bridge has efficiently and effectively served Bay Area travelers while seeing a steady increase in daily vehicle use in recent years. From 2009 to 2014, the Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) across the bridge climbed from 70,000 to 80,000 representing a 14.3-percentage increase. The RSR Bridge Access Improvements will ease congestion by increasing vehicle capacity on the Bridge and providing a new route for non-motorized travelers.