Promises to explore a new transit option along the median of Highway 85 are being halted, at least for now, by a lawsuit filed against the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA).

The transit agency's Highway 85 Policy Advisory Board had to cancel plans for a meeting next week on account of having nothing new to talk about. The board of local elected officials, including Mountain View Councilman John McAlister, have been talking for years about a transit option that could be built in the median of the busy highway -- which could be an express bus lane or a light rail line -- and agreed to study the feasibility of each option.

The only problem? VTA was supposed to study the plans using funds from the 2016 Measure B sales tax, and use of the tax money has effectively been frozen pending a legal challenge by a local resident. The lawsuit alleges that the measure was too broad and lacked specific details on how the money would be spent.

VTA's board of directors voted in August for a workaround strategy, permitting VTA officials to hash out an agreement with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) for $1.2 million in loans to conduct the study.

The source of MTC money comes from regional funding provided by the Federal Highway Administration Surface Transportation Program, and the plan is for VTA to pay the money back once the Measure B funds are released. If the lawsuit succeeds in repealing Measure B, VTA will have no obligation to repay the loan, according to a VTA staff report.