Federal government readies to give BART’s San Jose extension first installment of funds

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SAN JOSE — BART’s four-station extension into downtown San Jose is slated to receive $125 million in federal funds, officials said Wednesday, the first installment of what is expected to be a much larger amount.

Before it receives the funds, however, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), which is designing and building the $5.6 billion extension that BART will eventually operate, must first complete a formal application with the Federal Transit Administration. That isn’t projected to happen until the summer of next year, when it plans to ask for 25 percent of the project’s costs, or about $1.4 billion, said authority spokeswoman Bernice Alaniz.

The federal government will then have four months to approve the project and the full funding amount under its new Expedited Project Delivery pilot, which aims to speed the approval process for big infrastructure projects. But the early funding announcement, which will be held in reserve until the VTA completes its application, is a sign of the federal government’s commitment to the project, said Carl Guardino, the president and CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and a member of the California Transportation Commission.

“Institutions, as well as individuals, put their wallets where their words are, and this step by the Federal Transit Administration clearly signals their ongoing enthusiasm about the BART extension, regardless of political party or administration,” he said. “The nonpolitical FTA has always enthusiastically endorsed this extension.”

The early approval will also allow the agency to more quickly put the dollars to work, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao said in a statement. The authority will be able to use that money to advance the design and engineering, relocate utilities and acquire real estate, among other project tasks, Alaniz said.

The project was the first in the country to be selected for the expedited pilot program, in part because it was able to secure 75 percent of the projected costs in state and local funds, and in part because of the innovative construction techniques the project will employ, VTA General Manager Nuria Fernandez said in a statement.

“We received it because we are introducing innovative approaches to construction delivery that will allow us to build sooner than following the traditional federal process,” she said. “We hope to be a model for how this kind of funding is done.”

The project relies heavily on local sales tax funds, with nearly $3 billion from Santa Clara County’s measures A and B contributing to the project, along with another $375 million in toll funds under Regional Measure 3. The state is also providing another $910 million from the increased gas tax and cap-and-trade funds.

If the federal government agrees to fund the entire $1.4 billion, the project’s projected costs will be fully funded. Whether that covers the actual costs will be clearer once the designs are complete, Alaniz said, which isn’t expected until the end of 2021.

State Sen. Jim Beall, who authored the gas tax and the legislation that put the toll increase on the ballot, said it was great to see the commitment from the federal government for a project that already has so much state and local support.

“Today’s funding announcement highlights the need for a partnership between the state and federal government to expand BART to Silicon Valley,” he said. “I’m thrilled that we are one step closer to bringing BART to San Jose.”

The VTA and BART are getting ready to open Milpitas and Berryessa by the end of the year, the first two stations in a six-station extension into the South Bay.

The project is expected to get through the final approvals and finish with design by the end of 2021 and begin construction in 2022, according to the VTA. The stations are expected to finish construction by 2026.

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