Thursday, September 27, 2007

Newswrap 9/27/2007

Now Open
Taiwan Food talk (Now Open) September 15-20, 2007

4 star rating
based on 2 reviews

Category: Asian Fusion

43755 Boscell Rd
Fremont, CA 94538
(510) 668-0818
www.foodtalkcafe.com

  • Price Range: $
  • Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
  • Attire: Casual
  • Good for Groups: Yes
They were having a 10% OFF promotion (until the 15th of next month).

Overall, we're glad to have a more upscale (but not expensive) Chinese/Taiwanese restaurant like "Food Talk Cafe" in Fremont. We hope that the rest of that shopping center will develop so that there will be other good eats!

*Incidentally, the website doesn't seem to be up yet.

Fremont Water Park Update 09/08/07
August 30, 2007-August 31, 2007- I have Seen they added Temporary Power and the add power wires.
September 6, 2007- The old buildings at the old Swim Lagoon has Demolish.

The Globe
Projected Completion
Saigon Village: Winter 2007
China Village, JK Town, and Pacifica: Summer 2008
The Heart, Europa, and Taj India: Winter 2008
Additional Shopping Village to Come in Future Phases: Africa, Australia, Mexico

If you want more info just click The Globe on the top or bottom. They do have a Website and if you can't find the website you should have the to the website.

Saigon Village
Saigon Village is now complete on
September 1-8, 2007. Now they have to do tenants improvement and they haven't even started. I don't know what stores are they having and it will be long time the finish the stores.

3-year Paseo Padre detour opens today

Major construction begins to eliminate railroad crossings





What do you call something that's yellow, 100 feet tall, and has been sleeping at the side of Paseo Padre Parkway the past month? City engineers don't seem to know exactly what it's called either. But they know it's about to wake up and make it possible to eliminate the railroad crossings that tie up traffic several times a day.

Starting this afternoon, cars traveling along Paseo Padre will be routed onto the detour road that construction workers have been building for the past few months. The paved detour - a single lane in each direction - will carry traffic between Hancock Drive and Shadow Brooke Common for the next three years as workers complete the Grade Separation Project.


Background

The hundred million dollar project - the biggest public works project in the city's history - will eliminate the railroad crossings both Paseo Padre and Washington Boulevard. The tracks will stay at ground level in both locations. Washington will be raised 25 ft to cross above the tracks, while Paseo Padre will dip 20 feet to pass under them. In addition to eliminating traffic delays from passing trains, the project will make it possible for BART to extend to the Warm Springs district.


The Big Yellow Thing

Once the detour opens, workers will be able to start digging out the section of Paseo Padre that will pass under the tracks. But sinking the road down 20 feet is not just a matter of digging. With the water table sitting less than 10 feet deep, the new road would flood.

That's where the big yellow thing comes in. Drilling far into the surface, it will pump in a mixture a soil and cement that will be used to construct two 50-foot deep walls to keep water from seeping onto the new road. The walls will run along either side of the lowered portion of Paseo Padre, outside of the separate retaining walls that drivers will see once the road is complete.

Though only about a mile away, the Washington crossing does not have the same water table problems as the Paseo Padre one. The reason is that it is on the other side of the Hayward Fault, which runs diagonally between the two crossings.

"That shows you just what type of impact the fault has," said Jim Pierson, the city's transportation and operations director.


The Trains

Before fabricating the 50-foot deep wall for the new road, the big yellow thing will be used to build a similar, temporary wall to protect the railroad tracks. The tracks will be shifted east as part of the project, but not for a couple of years. And since the trains need to keep running throughout the digging, they too need protection from the underground water.

The whole reason for this project, the tracks also are the main cause of its complexity. To save money, shifting trains to the new set of tracks will be done at the same time for both locations. That means the tracks crossing Paseo Padre will not be shifted until the ones that cross Washington also are ready. But because the reconstructed Washington Boulevard will pass over the tracks, those tracks can't be relocated until after the roadway is completed.

"It's dangerous to build over live tracks," Pierson said

Once both sets of tracks are shifted, section of Paseo Padre where the old tracks had been can be lowered.


A bridge to the future water park

When the new road is complete, pedestrians and bicyclists will be able to cross over it on a prefabricated bridge. The bridge is as much a necessity as an amenity, Pierson said. Utility cables that now run underneath Paseo Padre will no longer be able to do so, since they would need to pass under both of the deep walls that keep water from entering the depressed road. Those cables will run through the bridge.

Other city projects will pick up the cost of building paths to the bridge, which will make it easy to walk or bike from Irvington to Central Park, Pierson said.


Project could be completed ahead of schedule

Although the real construction is only just beginning, Pierson said the project - set to finish in 2010 - has kept on schedule. In fact, the contractor has told the city they would like to speed up the work. But the city also wants to limit construction hours so residents are not woken up too early from the noise. And some of the work requires closing intersections for short periods of time, which typically would be over a weekend, Pierson said.

"The city will gladly accommodate (a faster schedule) to the extent it doesn't impact residents," he said.


For more info...

The city maintains a Web site with up-to-date information, detailed project diagrams, frequently asked questions, and contact information at www.fremontgradesep.com.

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