=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SF Gate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/chronicle/archive/2003/02= /16/BA238489.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Sunday, February 16, 2003 (SF Chronicle) BART's airport service in limbo/How soon trial run can begin is unclear Michael Cabanatuan, Chronicle Staff Writer San Francisco -- Don't pack the suitcases and head to BART to start that vacation just yet. It could be months more before the long-awaited extension to San Francisco International Airport opens. Contractor Tutor-Saliba/Slattery, which was supposed to wrap up construction in early November, still hasn't turned over the project to BART so that testing of the $1.5 billion extension can begin. "Every week, we wonder: Is it this week?" said Molly MacArthur, a BART spokeswoman for the extension project. "We don't have any expectation of when it's going to be turned over, but we are anxious." The 8.7-mile, four-station extension from Colma has already sped past ma= ny deadlines. When BART broke ground in November 1997, officials predicted that the first train would roll into SFO's international terminal by the end of 2001. Then weather and an endangered snake that was crushed at a construction site combined to push the deadline back to late fall 2002. But in July 2002, BART officials admitted they wouldn't finish in time f= or the holidays and predicted a January opening. Last month, they admitted they wouldn't meet that deadline. Tired of announcing opening dates and then having to retract them, BART officials have stopped making projections until they take possession of the extension and can begin two to three months of testing. BART riders appear to be as eager for the extension as the officials. Several have called or e-mailed The Chronicle wondering whether it's going to be completed in time for their spring or summer trips out of SFO. "I left California about a year ago and they were talking about an openi= ng date then," said Matthew Ko, an electrical engineer from Richland, Wash., who often flies into SFO to visit his family in Davis. "It seems silly to me that it's taking so long to open it up." Under the best of circumstances -- which would include a contractor turnover this week -- the earliest BART could run its first train full of passengers into SFO's international terminal would be around the end of April. But sources at BART say privately that a May opening seems more likely. Ron Tutor, Tutor-Saliba president, did not return messages left at his Sylmar (Los Angeles County) office by The Chronicle on Friday. But BART spokesman Mike Healy said Tutor has assured BART officials that the turnover will come "very soon." In an interview last month, Tutor cited "some minor difficulties in control and testing," but no major problems. A $65,000-a-day fine has been piling up since the company missed the November deadline -- although BART and Tutor- Saliba will arrive at a settlement that takes into account who was responsible for which delays. BART officials say there's no specific station or system that's holding = up the turnover and final testing -- just a lot of little things. "It's kind of a checklist of a bunch of various items," said BART's Heal= y. That includes certifications for elevators at the Millbrae station, completing fare-gate installation at the SFO station and testing escalators, he said. Tutor-Saliba is obligated to turn over "a complete and working system," said MacArthur. BART inspectors have gone over the system and identified problems that need to be fixed, she said, likening the process to a walk- through inspection on a new house. "It's our last chance to make sure everything is done," MacArthur said. "You don't want to accept anything until you are sure it's done and working the way you want it to be." Both BART and Tutor-Saliba are testing components of the extension, but once the transit agency takes possession, it will begin eight to 12 weeks of integrated tests, in which it makes sure everything works together and in concert with the rest of the system. During those tests, BART will operate the extension as if it were in service -- running trains on a schedule, running escalators and elevators, and testing the signs, the automated announcement system and the links with BART's Oakland control center. "We're going to make sure everything is operating in tiptop shape before we begin service," said Healy. Ko can hardly wait. "It's going to be great," he said. "It's going to be so convenient." E-mail Michael Cabanatuan at mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com.=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2003 SF Chronicle