Santa Clara VTA’s federal grant request advances for BART extension project

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) this week indicated its intent to obligate funds for the second phase of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (SCVTA) project to extend Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) service by 6 miles into downtown San Jose and the city of Santa Clara, California.

The FTA sent a letter of intent to the SCVTA, announcing the potential obligation of funds and laying out several conditions the agency must meet within the next two years to allow the project to be considered for a Full Funding Grant Agreement. The maximum federal share of the project would be $2.3 billion, or 25% of the final cost of the project, whichever is less.

"Linking San Jose with the East Bay and San Francisco will give millions of residents all over the [San Francisco] Bay Area a convenient and reliable option to get to work, school, shopping and health care," said Ray Tellis, an FTA regional administrator, in a press release.

The federal path forward for the project falls under the new Expedited Project Delivery Pilot Program (EPD). FTA is required by law to evaluate proposed EPD projects against a number of criteria and ensure that the prospective grant recipient demonstrates the technical, legal and financial capability to implement the project.