VTA announces billions of dollars in federal funding for BART to San Jose

The federal government will contribute $5.1 billion to complete the historic and long-awaited project

By Kristin J. Bender | Bay Area News Group | PUBLISHED: August 2, 2024 at 10:55 a.m. | UPDATED: August 4, 2024 at 2:32 a.m.

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, the transit agency designing and building the BART extension to San Jose and Santa Clara, on Friday announced the federal government will contribute $5.1 billion to help complete the historic and long-awaited project.

The massive award from the Federal Transit Administration is the second largest transit-related grant from the agency in history and the largest amount of federal money ever given to a West Coast transportation project, said San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan.

Supporters say the funds will provide a major injection of cash to a project that has faced years-long delays and a ballooning price tag. Still, the award leaves them $700 million short of what’s needed to complete the BART extension to the South Bay, and critics say the project’s current design is contributing to the gaping financial hole.

Officials must find the money before the federal government will release its funding for the project, Mahan said, which could be as early as next year.

“I think (the FTA) felt they stretched as far as they could,’’ Mahan said, adding that the project was competing for federal money with more than 60 others nationwide.

The mayor is confident cost savings can be found by having “difficult conversations” with every contractor working on the project.

“It is imperative that we close the gap in the coming months to position us to pull down the funds next year and not delay the project,” he said.

State Sen. Dave Cortese, a San Jose Democrat, said he will lend his support as chair of the Senate Transportation Committee.

“This is the first time we’ve had a gap to fill that’s the last gap that’s less than a billion dollars,” Cortese said Friday. “That means we’re done and let’s make it done, let’s make it happen.”

While many local leaders who for years have championed bringing BART to the South Bay are optimistic about finding the money, some critics of the way the project has played out warn it might be challenging.

“The state of California is tapped out. I don’t think they can get anymore from the state, and the feds are done with them,’’ said Jerry Cauthen, the president of the Bay Area Transportation Working Group, a nonprofit transit watchdog organization.

“Their only chances are private sources or local sources,” he said. “The only measures they have are Measures A and B and those (transit improvement) measures have money in them, but they’ve already been allocated.”

The group, like many others, has opposed the controversial decision to go with a single-bore tunnel design rather than the traditional twin-bore tunnel design and has been pushing for a cost comparison between the two.

“We think that it would at least save between $3 (billion) and $5 billion,” Cauthen said.

While BART will operate and maintain the South Bay line, VTA is completing the final phase of the 16-mile extension project. The last six miles will run through downtown San Jose and end in the city of Santa Clara.

Friday’s funding news comes about a month after a coalition representing hundreds of businesses sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg urging the FTA to quickly release billions to bring BART to the South Bay. The extension is the largest single public infrastructure project ever proposed in Santa Clara County.

The four-station BART extension that will run from the Berryessa Transit Center in North San Jose through downtown and up to Santa Clara has a price tag that has skyrocketed from $4.4 billion to $12.7 billion in the last decade. Originally slated to begin service in 2026, its opening date has now been pushed back to 2037.

Over the last two decades, Santa Clara County taxpayers have contributed more than $4.6 billion from local tax measures for the project. The state has kicked in another $1.9 billion.

Phase I of the BART extension brought service into Santa Clara County from Alameda County, with stops in Milpitas and North San Jose opening in 2020.

Crews broke ground on the next phase of the extension project in June using local money, and site preparation is taking place now. The project is expected to create 75,000 labor jobs.

“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,” Jim Wunderman, president and CEO of the Bay Area Council, said in a statement.

“The BART to Silicon Valley extension will better connect our region, our employers and our employees, helping ease the traffic congestion that saps productivity from our economy and incentivizing more housing in places where we need it.”

For more information about MNM Partners, LLC and their investment opportunities, please visit www.mnmpartnersllc.com