The U.S. Department of Transportation recently advanced Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority’s (VTA’s) Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Silicon Valley Phase II project.
The Expedited Project Delivery Pilot Program project would extend the BART system six miles from the Berryessa Transit Center into downtown San Jose and the City of Santa Clara. Proposed pilot program projects must be evaluated against a number of criteria to ensure prospective grant recipients can implement projects.
“Linking San Jose with the East Bay and San Francisco will give millions of residents all over the Bay Area a convenient and reliable option to get to work, school, shopping and health care,” Ray Tellis, Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Region 9 regional administrator, said. “Adding this route will take thousands of cars off the road, helping reduce traffic jams and the climate impact that comes with them.”
The FTA sent VTA a letter of intent outlining the conditions that the transportation authority must meet within the next two years for the project to be considered for full grant funding.
If VTA fulfills the requirements, the minimum grant will be $2.3 billion or 25 percent of the final project cost, whichever is less. The project is expected to cost $9.1 billion.