Is BART equipped to deal with a major earthquake? What if you're in the Bay Bridge water tunnel when it hits?

Answer 1

From what I've been told, the BART tunnel is engineered so that it's actually suspending from chains or whatever - not anchored to the bottom of the bay.

In the event of an earthquake, the tunnel is likely to rock back & forth but it's not going to break open & get flooded or anything like that.

Answer 2

The simulated earthquake at Universal Studios is actually based on the BART system (under the assumption that the transbay tube fails, and water rushes into the subway stations in Downtown San Francisco...weakening the roadway above to the point where it would collaspe).

Now, the chances of something like that happening is quite slim (you're more likely to get hit by a bus walking around San Francisco). Major earthquakes happen only a few times in a century. And since 1972, 200,000 to 300,000 people have been transported in the tunnel everyday without incident. The transbay tube is an extremely strong structure...far stronger than it needs to be under normal circumstances. It weathered the 1989 quake with very little damage, and they estimate it can withstand a fairly direct hit upto 7.2.

However, anything much larger than that and all bets are off. It may escape without a scratch, or it may be completely destroyed as the theme park ride "worse case scenario" comes true.

Answer 3

Realistically?

As a Bay Area resident?

A MAJOR quake?

No. They built it to what they thought was a good standard when they built it, but they have learned some more since then. It did OK in the last quake, but that was 50 miles away, the next one is more likely to be within 10 miles. It still came within an inch or so of dropping one of the east spans of the bay bridge into the bay (not just the connecting sections that collapsed, the whole span, cars and all).

There's also the disturbing fact that big quakes are usually followed by local government people saying "oh, we never thought that would happen". Like the Japanese after the Kobe quake destroyed one of their carefully engineered roads.

You'll get the happy souls who believe whatever the local government tells them and obviously that will be that there's nothing to worry about.

If we get an 8 or a 9 then all bets are off. Even a 7.5 on the Hayward fault may be enough to disassemble the tube to the point where it floods.

So do I use BART? Sure!

Do I worry about it? Nope. We all live in a state of denial round here, or we hope that we'll have moved somewhere else when it happens and we'll just be sending dollars to the charities and watching it on CNN in between the meaningless claptrap they offer instead of new.

Answer 4

I asked the same questions of an BART employee last year just before I booked a vacation there. I was assured that all anti earthquake measures had been taken so I do go there and had a great time!
Also, the BART travel system is just great. I used it from the airport to my hotel and back to the airport when I left. That system is way cheaper than taxis anything else and faster too!
Go go it!
Cheers!

Answer 5

I can't imagine what would happen if an earthquake had shaken the BART tunnels? What if I were trapped in the tunnels? Gosh, that is so scary to think about.