Caltrain will be replacing the 112-year-old Monte Diablo Avenue rail bridge as part of the San Mateo Bridges Replacement Project next week.

The bridge replacement will require the complete shutdown of Monte Diablo Avenue and surrounding streets with continuous weekend track work beginning at 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 18 through 5 a.m. Monday, Dec. 21. Construction activity includes removing the old bridge structure and rolling in the new bridge.

Because of the mandatory track closure that weekend, Caltrain will operate SamTrans bus service between its Hayward Park and Burlingame stations on Saturday, Dec. 19, to accommodate the replacement of the bridge. All passengers traveling through San Mateo on Saturday will be required to board buses between the Hayward Park and Burlingame stations. By Sunday, Dec. 20, Caltrain is expected to be back in service and trains will be using one track, known as single-tracking, through the project area to provide service.

Information on the temporary service change will appear on the visual message signs at stations and conductors will be making regular announcements onboard trains as well. In addition, ambassadors will be at all three stations to assist people. Caltrain will undertake this same process for the remaining three rail bridges to be replaced. The next bridge replacement is tentatively scheduled for February 2016 at Santa Inez Avenue. For a copy of the bus bridge map, visit www.caltrain.com/busbridge.

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About Caltrain: Owned and operated by the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, Caltrain provides commuter rail service from San Francisco to San Jose, with limited commute service to Gilroy. Caltrain has enjoyed nearly four years of consecutive monthly ridership increases, surpassing more than 60,000 average weekday riders earlier this year. While the Joint Powers Board assumed operating responsibilities for the service in 1992, the railroad will celebrate 150 years of continuous passenger service in 2014. Planning for the next 150 years of Peninsula rail service, Caltrain is on pace to electrify the corridor by 2019, reducing diesel emissions by 84 percent and adding more service to more stations. 

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