California Construction News staff writer
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority will receive $5.1 billion in funding from the federal government for its South Bay BART extension project.
“We still have work to do to bring this project to fruition,” said San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan. “I’m confident that VTA and its development partners will come to the table and find creative ways to close the remaining gap so we can move full steam ahead on this transformational infrastructure project.”
Members of the VTA board along with other labor and business leaders made the announcement Friday, calling it the second largest federal investment in a transportation project and the largest transportation infrastructure project in the history of Santa Clara County.
“Extending BART to Silicon Valley isn’t just a regional priority it’s also an important investment in the nation’s economic and innovation future,” said Jim Wunderman, president and CEO of the Bay Area Council. “We were proud to join with San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and so many others to advocate for this critical funding and we applaud the Federal Transit Administration for its wisdom in investing to strengthen in our nation’s competitiveness.”
The entire cost of the project is estimated to be around $12.7 billion. Federal funding combined with existing funds covers most of the cost for the project. It is expected to create 75,000 jobs, most of which will be union jobs. If all goes according to schedule, the extension will be done by 2040.
