The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority announced Friday that the federal government has committed $5.1 billion to a project to extend BART farther into the South Bay, building four new stations and expanding access to downtown San Jose.
Termed the “BART Silicon Valley Phase II Extension,” the project will extend the system’s Green and Orange lines several miles from their current terminus at Berryessa/North San Jose Station. The train line will tunnel underground to connect with San Jose’s Diridon Station and eventually resurface at Santa Clara Station, where the line will end.
As Santa Clara is already served by Caltrain, this project will effectively complete a ring around San Francisco Bay, connecting the region’s three biggest cities via downtown San Jose.
According to the VTA, Friday’s $5 billion federal disbursement will be the second-largest transit-funding allocation in the country and the largest outside of New York. Additionally, it’s the largest infrastructure project in Santa Clara County’s history, with a price tag now estimated to be $12.7 billion. The VTA claims it has secured nearly all but approximately $700 million and there will be discussions between board and staff on how best to close that gap.
Last year, a scathing report alleged that anticipated costs had ballooned far beyond the initial estimates and that Phase 2 would not see passenger service for another decade at least. In an email to The Standard, a spokesperson for the VTA said ground had broken on the project in mid-June and “we anticipate passenger service to begin in 2037.”
BART, it should be noted, is not involved in the construction. “VTA is designing it, building it and paying for it,” BART spokesperson Alicia Trost said. “Once VTA opens the stations, they will pay BART to run service there. But they will own the stations.”
This story has been updated with additional information from the VTA.