BART's long-planned and pricier-than-anticipated West Dublin/Pleasanton Station will finally open on Feb. 19, bringing more parking and improving transit access for commuters in the busy Tri-Valley area.

The $106 million station, which sits in the median of Interstate 580 just east of Interstate 680 and straddles the freeway, won't come with any new track. It's BART's 44th station, but the first infill station, one built on an operating line, between the Castro Valley and Dublin/Pleasanton stations. Like the end-of-the-line station, it will sit in both Dublin and Pleasanton.

"It's been a long time coming," said BART Director John McPartland, who represents the area. "And it will be extremely well used."

BART riders in eastern Alameda and southern Contra Costa counties had a long wait for the new station, delayed for nearly two years by construction problems after being postponed for a decade.

A dispute with the contractor over building standards for a pair of prefabricated walkways across I-580 slowed construction by nearly two years and raised the price of the station by about $20 million.

The station, adjacent to Stoneridge mall, was originally planned as part of the Dublin/Pleasanton extension, which opened in 1997.

But the project lacked the funding to construct stations at Castro Valley, West Dublin/Pleasanton and Dublin/Pleasanton, so BART officials chose to extend it to the current terminus, east of Interstate 680, and add the intermediate station later. That created the longest uninterrupted stretch of track in the BART system - 10 miles.

BART struck a deal with developer Jones Lang LaSalle to build a transit village next to the station in 1999, and construction started in 2006. According to BART, the partnership with developers produced $15 million toward the station.

Planners estimated that by 2013, about 8,560 riders a day will use the station. Many will be drawn by 1,200 new parking spaces. Parking lots at nearby stations fill up early most mornings, and there are waiting lists for reserved spaces.

Directors set fares for the new station earlier this fall, using BART's complex distance-based formula. From West Dublin/Pleasanton, riders will pay one-way fares of $5.40 to downtown San Francisco, $4.15 to Berkeley and $10.40 to San Francisco International Airport.

BART plans a ceremony at the new station Feb. 18, but regular service won't begin until the next day.