Questions and Answers (Q & A)
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
March 2010
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What is the BART Silicon Valley?
The BART Silicon Valley Project will extend the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) regional heavy rail system south from a future Warm Springs Station in the city of Fremont in Alameda County through the cities of Milpitas and San Jose in Santa Clara County to a terminus near the Caltrain Commuter Rail Station in the city of Santa Clara.
The 16.1-mile alignment will travel at level, above ground, a trench, and in a subway through downtown San Jose. The project includes six stations, a new BART maintenance and storage facility in the city of Santa Clara, and the
purchase of rail cars needed to operate the extension once it is built. The
project will be built in two phases, with construction of the first phase
planned to begin in late 2011. The first phase is 10 miles and includes two stations, Milpitas and Berryessa.
The alignment for the project generally parallels I-680 and I-880, two major north-south regional corridors in the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland Bay Area that link residential areas in Alameda, Contra Costa and San Joaquin Counties with numerous high technology and other employment centers in Silicon Valley.
Major highway transportation facilities in the project corridor are I-880 and I-680 running north and south, I-280 and State Route 237 running east and west, and U.S. 101 intersecting the project corridor. Existing public transit services in the area include Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) light rail, VTA and Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) local and express buses, Caltrain Commuter Rail, Altamont Commuter Express (ACE), and Capitol Corridor Intercity Rail (Amtrak). (Top)
Will the BART Silicon Valley Extension Project connect to other transportation modes?
Yes. The project represents the last link needed to complete the connection of all of the region’s rail systems around the San Francisco Bay and to tie together the region’s three major metropolitan centers: San Jose, San Francisco and Oakland. The project will provide efficient and convenient passenger connections to the core BART system, ACE, Caltrain, the Capitol Corridor Intercity Rail Service (Amtrak), VTA buses, planned airport transportation, bus rapid transit (BRT), VTA light rail system, and California’s proposed high-speed rail system.
This critical project will carry a significant number of passengers; relieve severe traffic congestion along key travel corridors; generate a significant amount of economic activity; and connect the 1.7 million residents of Santa Clara County with the existing 104-mile BART regional rail system, which serves almost every major destination in the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland Bay Area. The 2030 ridership forecast for the project is over 90,000 average weekday riders. (Top)
Will BART Silicon Valley connect to the Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport?
Yes. The project will link with a planned transport system to the Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport. The transfer will occur at a future BART Station in the city of Santa Clara, the same location where the project will also connect with Caltrain Commuter Rail Service. Mineta San Jose International Airport is projected to have a 100 percent increase in passenger traffic between now and 2025. Construction was completed in Spring 2010 expanding the airport’s main concourse to serve 17.4 million passengers per year. Once BART Silicon Valley is completed, BART will also link Silicon Valley with the San Francisco and Oakland International Airports . (Top)
What are the economic benefits associated with the completion of BART Silicon Valley?
BART Silicon Valley is anticipated to support approximately 10,000 jobs annually, as a result of construction, operations, and maintenance, travel times savings, and mobility/accessibility benefits. Approximately 7,500 of the anticipated jobs, or 75 percent, are expected to be based in Santa Clara County.
Silicon Valley is home to more than 7,300 high technology enterprises. This includes numerous global companies, as well as thousands of start-ups, small businesses and emerging companies that will become tomorrow’s global models. These businesses employ a total of more than 300,000 people. This is the largest concentration of high technology enterprises in the world.
Innovative products and services that originate in Silicon Valley contribute greatly to the success of the regional, state and national economies. Providing a comprehensive, multi-modal transportation system for Silicon Valley is a key component in supporting the economic health of the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland Bay Area Region, California and the United States.
The project is vital to the future of Silicon Valley. t will: (a) support the local economy; (b) enhance regional connectivity; (c) alleviate traffic congestion; (d) accommodate future travel demand; (e) improve access to employment, education, medical, and retail centers; and (f) maximize public transit usage. (Top)
What are the traffic relief benefits associated with the completion of BART Silicon Valley?
I-680 and I-880 are heavily congested corridors in the nine-county San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland Bay Area that are physically constrained by the San Francisco Bay to the west and open space hills to the east of the corridor. By extending BART to Silicon Valley , the project would provide a rail transit alternative that reduces traffic congestion in these corridors, when compared to no project being built. In addition, the project represents a critical link needed to complete the connection of all of the region’s rail systems around San Francisco Bay. (Top)
What is the estimated cost of the BART Silicon Valley?
The total estimated capital cost of the BART Silicon Valley is approximately $5.9 billion in 2009 dollars. Capital cost includes vehicles, property, design, administration, and construction. VTA is working with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) on updated project costs as final design and construction decisions are made. (Top)
What funding sources are available for BART Silicon Valley?
About 85 percent of the capital funding to build BART Silicon Valley will come from local and state revenues.
The following is a funding breakdown for the BART Silicon Valley Extension Project. The figures are expressed in 2008 dollars:
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Funding Source
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Funding Amount(YOE$)
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Percentage of Funding
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Local 2000 Measure A Program
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$4.4 billion
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74%
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State Traffic Congestion Relief Program
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$649 million
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11%
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Federal New Starts Program
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$950 million
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15%
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Total
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$5.9 billion
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100%
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The state and local funding sources for BART Silicon Valley are committed. In July 2000, the California State Legislature and former Governor Gray Davis enacted the Traffic Congestion Relief Act. Among other things, this legislation created the Traffic Congestion Relief Program (TCRP), which consists of 149 specific high priority transportation capital improvement projects around the state. The bill authorized $760 million in TCRP funding for the following: “BART to San Jose; extend BART from Fremont to Downtown San Jose in Santa Clara and Alameda Counties.”
In November 2001, the VTA Board of Directors approved a comprehensive agreement with BART that addresses numerous issues related to the BART Silicon Valley Extension Project, one of which was the sharing of the $760 million in TCRP funds. Under the terms of this agreement, BART would be allocated $111 million for its extension from Fremont to Warm Springs and VTA would receive $649 million for the Silicon Valley Rapid Transit Project.
In November 2000, the voters of Santa Clara County, by a 70.3 percent majority, approved the Measure A Transit Improvement Program, a ½-cent local transit sales tax that would provide funding to:
- Connect BART to the cities of Milpitas, San Jose and Santa Clara.
- Build a rail connection from the Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport to BART, Caltrain and light rail.
- Purchase low-floor light-rail vehicles to enhance
access for disabled individuals and seniors.
- Expand VTA’s bus fleet and convert it to clean-fuel
vehicles.
- Provide light rail service throughout Santa Clara County.
- Expand and electrify Caltrain.
This 30-year local sales tax went into effect on April 1, 2006. It will expire on March 31, 2036.
The 2000 Measure A Transit Improvement Program will provide $4.7 billion in year of expenditure dollars for the BARt Silicon Valley.
In August 2003, the VTA Board of Directors adopted a resolution authorizing the issuance of bonds up to $550 million secured by and payable from the 2000 Measure A Transit Improvement Program. A portion of these bond proceeds was made available to keep project development work related to get BART Silicon Valley moving forward.
VTA will seek the remaining $950 million for the project through the federal New Starts Program. (Top)
How much federal New Starts funding is needed for BART Silicon Valley? What is the percentage of New Starts funding as compared with the overall cost of the project?
BART Silicon Valley is seeking $950 million from the federal New Starts Program. New Starts dollars would account for approximately 15 percent of the total capital funding required for the project. This is one of the lowest federal shares, as a percentage of total project costs, requested for a New Starts project.
What is the federal New Starts process?
New Starts projects must go through a rigorous process with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). The process is defined generally in the federal surface transportation legislation that funds New Starts projects: the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). Specific project performance measures and reporting requirements have been defined by FTA. Currently, FTA rates each New Starts project according to the following basic criteria: (a) project justification; and (b) financial commitment. The project justification rating is obtained by evaluating a potential New Starts project according to a number of factors, including mobility improvements, environmental benefits, cost effectiveness, operating efficiencies, economic development effects, and land use considerations. The financial commitment rating requires a project to be evaluated based on its local and state financial commitment (non-New Starts share of project costs), and the stability and reliability of its capital and operating financial plans.
It is important to point out the following with regard to FTA’s New Starts ratings process:
- Project evaluation is an on-going process.
- Projects receive a composite rating according to a
five-point scale: high, medium-high, medium, medium-low, and low.
- Ratings occur annually and are updated to reflect new
information or project refinements, such as costs, financial information,
ridership, benefits, schedules, and impacts.
- Based on updated project information, ratings for
projects can change.
- As part of its Annual New Starts Report to Congress, FTA makes funding recommendations for projects for the upcoming fiscal year.
Aside from these ratings, a New Starts project must pass certain FTA milestones in order to be eligible for funding. VTA has already achieved key milestones in the FTA New Starts process for the Silicon Valley Rapid Transit Project and will continue to achieve others necessary to demonstrate readiness to begin construction.
(a) Completion of an Alternatives Analysis: VTA completed a Major Investment Study/Alternatives Analysis (MIS/AA) in 2001, selecting a BART Extension to Milpitas, San Jose and Santa Clara as the Preferred Investment Strategy for the Silicon Valley Rapid Transit Corridor.
(b) Inclusion of the project in the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP): Costs for design and a partial construction allowance for construction of the Silicon Valley Rapid Transit Project are included in the most recent version of the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) adopted by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC). MTC is the metropolitan planning organization (MPO) for the nine-county San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland Bay Area. Capital and operating costs for the entire 16.1-mile project are anticipated to be included in the pending update of the fiscally constrained RTP, scheduled for adoption March 2009.
(c) Approval for the project to enter into preliminary engineering: A request of FTA to approve entry of the Silicon Valley Rapid Transit Project into New Starts preliminary engineering is to be submitted summer 2009.
(d) Issuance of a Record of Decision upon completion of federal environmental work: This work is in progress. According to the Silicon Valley Rapid Transit Project’s schedule, a Record of Decision is anticipated to be received in early 2010.
(e) Approval for the project to enter into final design: VTA expects to seek FTA approval to enter into final design for the Silicon Valley Rapid Transit Project in late 2009 or early 2010.
If a project does not pass each of these milestones, then it is not eligible to receive federal New Starts appropriations for the respective phases of work.
Once a New Starts project has been issued its Record of Decision and has been approved to enter into final design by FTA based on its overall project rating, the project sponsor and FTA begin negotiating a Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) for the project. The FFGA spells out the roles and responsibilities of the project sponsor and FTA during the construction of the project. It also represents the commitment of the federal government to provide its share of construction funding for the project. A New Starts funding schedule is included in the FFGA, which specifies the amount of New Starts dollars that should be appropriated by Congress in each fiscal year for the project during construction. A project cannot receive a New Starts appropriation for construction without an FFGA. (Top)
Where is BART Silicon Valley in the New Starts process?
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is continuing to work with VTA on the Silicon Valley Rapid Transit Project’s financial plan, travel demand model and cost-effectiveness rating. In spring 2005, VTA outlined to FTA a potential strategy of: (a) identifying a portion of the 16.1-mile corridor as the “New Starts Candidate Project;” but (b) building the entire project simultaneously, with the remainder being locally funded. In April 2005, FTA informed VTA that it would accept this strategy, with the Warm Springs-Berryessa portion of the 16.1-mile corridor serving as the federalized segment for New Starts purposes. The Berryessa-San Jose-Santa Clara portion of the project corridor would be the localized segment. As a caveat, FTA indicated that the federalized segment must demonstrate independent utility in case the localized segment is unable to be built.
Federal New Starts funds would support construction of the New Starts portion of the project from Warm Springs to Berryessa, which is 9.9 miles long, while state and local dollars would be used for construction of the remaining portion of the project from Berryessa through downtown San Jose to Santa Clara.
In December 2005, VTA formally requested that the Silicon Valley Rapid Transit Project be temporarily withdrawn from FTA’s formal New Starts process. The reason for this “time-out” from the formal New Starts process was to allow VTA to more effectively work with FTA to: (a) resolve travel demand modeling issues; (b) evaluate ridership estimates; (c) contain project costs; (d) address financial capacity issues; and (e) improve the competitiveness of the project across all New Starts evaluation criteria. It is VTA’s intent to return the project to the formal New Starts process in calendar 2009, and to seek federal funding for final design and construction beginning in FY 2011.
Progress to date on New Starts issues relative to the project can be summarized as follows:
- Financial Plan: In June 2006, the VTA Board of Directors approved a revenue and expenditure plan for the 2000 Measure A Transit Improvement Program. The Silicon Valley Rapid Transit Project is included in this adopted plan. The plan includes revenues currently programmed plus new revenues equivalent to a 30-year, quarter-cent local sales tax to support the construction and operation of all projects identified in the 2000 Measure A Transit Improvement Program. In addition, VTA must prepare a number of financial plans and related documents for submission to FTA as part of the New Starts Criteria evaluation and rating process. These documents will be based on the most current cost, planning and financial information available at the time of submission. VTA has entered into a contract with a consultant team to put together a financial model to support the development of this information. This comprehensive financial model will include capital and operating needs for all of VTA’s transit activities, and will be used as the basis for a more detailed analysis to support an update of the 2000 Measure A expenditure plan.
- Economic Effects Evaluation: In response to the new requirements in SAFETEA-LU for a New Starts project’s economic benefits to be considered as part of FTA’s evaluation and ratings process, VTA is conducing an economic effects evaluation of the Silicon Valley Rapid Transit Corridor Project. This analysis will consist of the following: (a) economic impact analysis at the countywide/local levels; (b) analysis of the impacts of the project on tax revenues, government spending and government services; (c) competitiveness analysis; (d) sensitivity and risk analysis; (e) dynamic feedback analysis; and (f) evaluation of alternative financing strategies.
- Travel Demand Model: FTA accepted the Silicon Valley Rapid Transit Project’s travel demand model in January 2007. In addition, FTA has approved the project’s transportation system management (TSM) alternative. Next steps with regard to modeling efforts are to: (a) conduct a sensitivity analysis of the model’s assumptions based on FTA guidance to gauge their effects on ridership projections; (b) update the model with the 2007 regional land-use projections prepared by the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG); (c) update the project’s ridership estimate; (d) refine the project’s costs; and (e) use the model to determine the project’s user benefits. (Top)
Has BART Silicon Valley received any prior New Starts appropriations?
Yes. To date, BART Silicon Valley has been appropriated a total of $11.25 million in federal New Starts money for preliminary engineering work, as follows:
- FY 2003 = $250,000.
- FY 2004 = $2 million.
- FY 2005 = $2.5 million.
- FY 2006 = $6.5 million.
All of these funds have been received by VTA. (Top)
Was BART Silicon Valley authorized in SAFETEA-LU?
Yes. The BART Silicon Valley Extension Project was authorized for federal New Starts funding in the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), which was signed into law in August 2005. (Top)
What is the status of the state Traffic Congestion Relief Program funding for BART Silicon Valley?
To date, the BART Silicon Valley Extension Project has been allocated a total of $649 million in Traffic Congestion Relief Program (TCRP) funding, as follows:
- February 2001 = $8 million for alternatives analysis
and environmental work.
- April 2002 = $37 million for conceptual engineering
and environmental work.
- February 2007 = $151 million for reimbursement for 35
percent design work pursuant to a Letter of No Prejudice (LONP) that was
executed by the California Transportation Commission (CTC) in December 2005.
VTA used local money to advance this phase of project development work.
- February 2007 = $213.5 million for 65 percent design
work.
- September 2008 = $239 million for final design. (Top)
What are the operating and maintenance costs related to BART Silicon Valley and how will those be funded?
In November 2008, a 1/8 cent sales tax measure passed by over two thirds majority, to provide for annual operating and maintenance expenses once state and federal funding has been secured.
The total operating and maintenance cost for BART Silicon Valley in 2018 is approximately $119 million (year of expenditure dollars). VTA would be financially responsible for that portion of BART Silicon Valley's direct and fixed operating and maintenance costs not covered by revenues.
Annual revenues for BART Silicon Valley are projected to total $76 million for 2018 in year of expenditure dollars. Potential operating revenues include fares, parking, and advertising. These revenues would offset the cost to operate and maintain the BART extension. (Top)
What is the status of the work on BART Silicon Valley? What is the current stage of development of the project?
BART Silicon Valley currently is under environmental review. The VTA Board of Directors approved the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for purposes of complying with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in December 2004. A supplemental EIR was certified by the VTA Board of Directors in June 2007. The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for purposes of complying with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) will be submitted to FTA for a Record of Decision in late-2009. Conceptual engineering (10 percent design) is done. Preliminary engineering work (35 percent design) is done. 65 percent design work was completed in December 2008. (Top)
What is the status of the environmental approval process for BART Silicon Valley?
In 2004, VTA submitted the administrative draft EIS/EIR for the BART Silicon Valley Extension Project to FTA for its review. However, FTA decided to delay this review until BART completed the federal EIS and received a Record of Decision for its Warm Springs Extension Project. In order to continue to move the environmental process for the Silicon Valley Rapid Transit Corridor Project forward, VTA, at that time, decided to pursue a strategy of separating the state EIR for the project from the federal EIS.
In December 2004, the VTA Board of Directors certified the state EIR for BART Silicon Valley. This action included an adopted project description, thereby allowing VTA to begin value engineering work. In January 2007, VTA released a draft supplemental EIR for BART Silicon Valley to reflect changes resulting from preliminary engineering (35 percent design). In June 2007, the VTA Board of Directors certified the Supplemental EIR.
FTA issued a Record of Decision to BART for its Warm Springs Extension Project in fall 2006, thereby allowing VTA to move forward with its federal environmental document for the Silicon Valley Rapid Transit Corridor Project; renamed the Silicon Valley Rapid Transit Project. In September 2007, FTA published a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register, which officially kicked off the EIS process for the project. In 2008 and 2009, VTA prepared a revised Draft EIS for the project for re-circulation to the public and a Final EIS with any value engineering modifications. The Final EIS for the Silicon Valley Rapid Transit Project and a request for the issuance of a Record of Decision was submitted to FTA in late-2009. (Top)
What is the status of engineering work related to BART Silicon Valley?
With the completion of preliminary engineering (35 percent design) in December 2006, VTA began the next level of engineering work related to the Silicon Valley Rapid Transit Project in January 2007. This work brought the project to a 65 percent design level in December 2008. Specifically, it consists of: (a) further developing the design of the project’s facilities and systems; and (b) updating the project’s cost estimates and schedules. It is being funded with $213.5 million in state TCRP money.
To facilitate the management of 65 percent design activities, the Silicon Valley Rapid Transit Project has been organized into three geographic areas, plus project-wide systems, as follows:
- Northern Area: Consists of studies and design work for the fixed guideway, stations, and parking structures from the planned BART Warm Springs Station in Fremont along the Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way to the east tunnel portal in San Jose at U.S. 101.
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Central Area: Consists of studies and design work for the underground portion of the project, which includes a five-mile twin tube tunnel, three underground stations and parking structures from the east tunnel portal near the U.S. 101/Alum Rock Interchange, under Santa Clara Street in downtown San Jose, to a west tunnel portal near the Santa Clara Station.
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Western Area: Consists of studies and design work for the fixed guideway, maintenance facility, one station, and parking structures from the west tunnel portal to the end of the tail track in the city of Santa Clara.
- Project-Wide Systems: Consists of
studies and design work for the traction power, communications, train control,
and security systems that would be installed throughout the entire project
corridor.
- Design Integration: Consists of project design standards and criteria, coordination between the various design elements, and compliance with design requirements through reviews. (Top)
What is the schedule for BART Silicon Valley? When is construction scheduled to begin? When will the project be open for service?
- Approval of the state EIR occurred in December 2004. A
supplemental EIR to reflect changes to the project resulting from preliminary
engineering was certified by the VTA Board of Directors in June 2007.
- Submittal of the federal EIS to FTA and the issuance
of a Record of Decision are expected in late-2009.
- Preliminary engineering (35 percent design) began in
2004 and was completed in December 2006.
- 65 percent design started in January 2007 and was
completed in December 2008.
- Final environmental approval is expeceted Spring 2010.
- Final design, which will move the project to a 100
percent design level, is expected to begin in late 2010.
- VTA anticipates the execution of an FFGA for the
project with FTA sometime in mid-2011.
- Beginning of major construction work is scheduled for
2010.
- Project completion and beginning of service are targeted for 2018. (Top)
How was the BART Silicon Valley Extention to Milpitas, San Jose and Santa Clara selected as the Preferred Investment Stategy for the Silicon Valley Rapid Transit Corridor?
The proposed BART Extension to Milpitas, San Jose and Santa Clara was selected following the completion of a Major Investment Study/Alternatives Analysis (MIS/AA) in November 2001. The MIS/AA evaluated 11 alternatives representing various modes of travel (express bus, bus rapid transit, commuter rail, diesel and electric light rail, and BART), and various alignments and stations located in the cities of Fremont, Milpitas, San Jose, and Santa Clara.
The Preferred Investment Strategy/Locally Preferred Alternative for the Silicon Valley Rapid Transit Corridor Project was chosen after an extensive review process, including eight months of technical analysis, 12 public meetings, and more than 15 community working group meetings.
When compared with the other alternatives, the BART Extension to Milpitas, San Jose and Santa Clara offers: (a) the fastest travel times to passenger destinations; (b) best access to jobs, educational facilities, medical centers, retail outlets, and entertainment venues; (c) greatest congestion relief; (d) best regional connectivity with no transfers to the existing BART system; and (e) opportunities for transit-oriented development in conjunction with local land-use planning efforts. The BART alternative also has the highest ridership projections. The 2030 ridership forecast for the project is over 90,000 average weekday riders.
The MIS/AA screening and evaluation process resulted in the adoption of the BART Extension to Milpitas, San Jose and Santa Clara as the preferred alternative by the VTA Board of Directors in November 2001. (Top)
What is the process for developing transit-oriented development and station area plans for BART Silicon Valley Extension Project?
Community involvement in station area planning and in considering appropriate transit-oriented development is an important component of the Silicon Valley Rapid Transit Project. VTA is working closely with the cities of Milpitas, San Jose and Santa Clara to define local land-use planning goals and priorities around the project’s station areas. All of the cities along the project corridor have local general plans, specific plans and redevelopment plans that specify transit-supportive land uses. VTA will coordinate with the plans and policies established by the cities to develop station campuses that support land-use scenarios around the project’s station areas. (Top)
Why is VTA the lead on BART Silicon Valley Extension Project?
VTA is responsible for transit planning, construction and operations in Santa Clara County, and has an excellent record for completing major roadway and transit projects on or ahead of schedule, and within or under budget.
VTA is the lead agency responsible for designing and constructing the Silicon Valley Rapid Transit Project. VTA will own all of the property, facilities and equipment related to the project. When the project is completed, BART will operate and maintain the system under an agreement executed with VTA. (Top)
Is BART Silicon Valley included in the Regional Transportation Plan?
Yes. The 2004 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) for the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland Bay Area identifies the BART extension in the Silicon Valley Transit Corridor as one of the high priority rail expansion corridors for the near and long terms for the region and as a priority for federal New Starts funding. With regard to the Silicon Valley Rapid Transit Project, the 2004 RTP includes environmental clearance, engineering, and right-of-way activities in the fiscally constrained portion of the RTP, while construction and operations are shown in the RTP’s vision element.
MTC is currently preparing the 2008 RTP. The fiscally constrained list of projects being reviewed as part of the environmental clearance process includes all activities related to the implementation of the BART extension in the Silicon Valley Rapid Transit Corridor, including construction and operations. (Top)
Who is VTA? Who is on the VTA Board of Directors?
VTA is an independent special district responsible for bus, light rail and paratransit operations; congestion management; highway improvements; transit capital improvement projects; and countywide transportation planning for Silicon Valley.
The VTA Board of Directors is responsible for setting transportation policy for Santa Clara County. It has 12 voting members and two ex-officio members. Ten directors are mayors or city council members representing the 15 cities in the county, and two directors are members of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. The two ex-officio members are Santa Clara County's representatives on MTC. (Top)
I’ve heard that BART Silicon Valley might end at the Berryessa Station. If so, how will that impact traffic and ridership?
BART service may temporarily go as far as Berryessa, but it is not planned to end in Berryessa. VTA remains fully committed to building the entire 16 miles. The total daily ridership projected for the two station extension is 46,000, with an average weekday ridership of 20,000 trips at the Milpitas Station and 26,000 at the Berryessa Station. A system ridership of 90,000 is estimated for the full build out of the project to Santa Clara in 2030. This ridership will be spread throughout the entire day across the entire six-station BART Silicon Valley Extension. The automobile traffic at the Berryessa Station during the morning or evening commute time is projected at 1,700 vehicles per peak hour while Berryessa serves as a temporary end-of-line station, and 2,200 vehicles per peak hour when the full extension is in operation. These traffic projections represent conditions for Berryessa in 2030 and are less than many other planned developments.Traffic would be accommodated with new signalized intersections, turn lanes, and station access roads within the station area. (Top)
I live near the alignment and I’m worried about increased levels of noise. What are you going to do about it?
BART trains will be operating in the Union Pacific Railroad corridor which is an active railroad line. VTA has prepared a federal environmental approval document which identifies businesses and residences that will be impacted by noise and vibration. In the event that the noise or vibration from the project exceeds the Federal Transit Administrations allowable levels, VTA has mitigated all noise and vibration impacts to below the FTA criteria. This involves a combination of sound walls, noise insulation of residences and trackway treatments to reduce noise and/or vibration impacts. For more information on this subject, please contact VTA’s Environmental Planning Department at (408) 321-5787. (Top)
My property (or business) is right where VTA is planning to locate the BART station. Who should I be talking to and what are my options as a property owner (or tenant)?
As VTA plans, designs and constructs projects to meet the County’s future transportation needs, it is not always possible to avoid purchasing property interests from private property owners. VTA is committed to provide all owners and tenants associated with property impacted by the project, with timely, clear and pertinent information regarding the BART Silicon Valley Extension Project and the property acquisition process. For more information on this subject, please contact VTA’s Real Estate Planning Department at (408) 934-2650. (Top)
What does the term right-of-way or ROW mean?
The term right-of-way is used to describe the property which an entity owns or in this case, the area modified for passage of a railway (specifically railbed and tracks). For example, VTA purchased the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) right-of-way to build the BART project. Now that VTA owns that right-of-way, the UPRR tracks will be moved over so VTA can clear the property for the BART tracks. (Top)
What does the terms “at-grade” or “above/below-grade” mean?
The term at-grade basically means “street level”. If something is below-grade, it means that it goes under the street or fixed structure. If something is above-grade, it means that it goes over (usually on an elevated structure in the air). An example of below-grade would be a portion of our light rail near First and Julian streets that goes under the UPPR tracks. An above-ground example would be the portion of light rail that operates nearest the Great Mall in Milpitas where it is above ground, operating on an elevated guideway. (Top)
The economy is really bad. How is that affecting the project?
The majority of VTA’s budget comes from sales tax revenues. With the decline in the economy, sales tax revenues have declined impacting the capital budget for the project. VTA is looking for funding support from the state and federal government to meet the commitment made to the voters to bring BART to Silicon Valley. VTA is fully committed to building the entire 16-mile project and the current revenue projections require that construction be done in phases. Once VTA has identified and secured sufficient funding for the full project, a revised construction schedule will be implemented. (Top)
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