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The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) recently received two Federal Transit Administration (FTA) grants totaling $8.9 million for the Silicon Valley Rapid Transit Project.

The FTA also approved VTA's request to begin preparing an Environmental Impact Statement for the project, which calls for building a 16.1-mile extension of Bay Area Rapid Transit System's (BART) line to Milpitas, San Jose and Santa Clara, Calif.

"Bringing BART to Santa Clara County will help fulfill our long-term vision for a complete and effective transportation system in the Bay Area Region that will relieve traffic congestion and provide the foundation for growth," said VTA Chairman Dean Chu in a prepared statement.

Congress appropriated the New Starts Program grants as part of transportation spending budgets for fiscal years 2005 and 2006. Grant proceeds will reimburse VTA for the cost of the project's preliminary engineering work.