The largest single public infrastructure project ever constructed in Santa Clara County, VTA's BART Silicon Valley Phase II Project (Phase II) will extend BART service 6-miles from the Berryessa Transit Center into downtown San José and ending in the City of Santa Clara.
Phase II is estimated to carry 54,600 passengers each weekday to destinations throughout the Bay Area by 2040. Completion of the project will finally "ring the bay" with frequent rail service.
Phase II is planned to include:
Project Benefits
- Ringing the Bay: Enjoy a one seat ride from San José and Santa Clara to destinations all around the Bay Area through frequent and reliable transit.
- A Faster Ride: Skip traffic lights and congestion by hopping on BART. Read, text, or listen to music, and you will be at your destination before you know it.
- Economic Vitality: In addition to jobs created during engineering and construction, Phase II will connect communities to thousands of jobs around the Bay.
- Reducing Construction Impacts: Our innovative single-bore method will minimize street level impacts and business interruption to the extent possible.
- Spurring Transit Oriented Communities: A once in a century opportunity to create equitable and walkable places to live, work, shop, and play through compact, mixed-use development around transit.
- Cleaner Air: With improved transit and transit oriented communities, there is less need to drive. Fewer auto trips means reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
Funding Strategy
In order to make Phase II a reality, a diverse funding strategy has been identified for this project with varied revenue streams. Voters approved multiple local and statewide measures, showing their support for bringing BART service into Santa Clara County.
Below provides a more in depth look at the funding strategy for the project. The project cost estimate and funding strategy will be updated as the project advances in design and engineering.
Local Funding
2000 Measure A
On August 9, 2000, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Board of Directors voted to place a 30-year half-cent transit sales tax on the November 7, 2000 General Election ballot, giving Santa Clara County voters the opportunity to vote on transportation improvements in the county including construction of a BART extension from Alameda County to Santa Clara County.
Measure A was approved by 70.3 percent of the voters and collection of the tax began in April 2006 to help fund design and construction of VTA’s BART Silicon Valley project.
2008 Measure B: Operation and Maintenance Funding
On November 4, 2008, an additional Santa Clara County ballot measure supporting the BART extension passed, receiving 66.78% of the vote, exceeding the two-thirds super majority. The 30-year eighth-cent Measure B sales tax will generate dedicated revenue to fulfill VTA's obligation to BART for the operation, maintenance, and future capital reserve of the extension VTA constructs.
2016 Measure B
In June 2016, the VTA Board of Directors unanimously adopted the framework and funding amounts to place an additional half cent 30-year sales tax measure on the November 8, 2016 ballot to help fund transportation priorities. An extensive 18-month public outreach process gathered input and suggestions on how to best improve the transportation needs of Santa Clara County. Through this process, a list of categories and transportation projects was approved, including a plan to invest $1.5 billion in Phase II of VTA’s BART Silicon Valley Extension.
2016 Measure B, which required a two-thirds majority vote, was approved by voters by more than 71 percent of the vote and collection of the half-cent sales tax began in April 2017.
Regional Measure 3
In June 2018, 55 percent of voters in nine Bay Area counties approved Regional Measure 3. This measure added a $1 toll increase on seven state-owned bridges in January 2019, with additional $1 increases in 2022 and 2025. Regional Measure 3 will provide $375 million to Phase II.
State Funding
Traffic Congestion Relief Program (TCRP)
In August 2014, VTA received the sixth and final allocation from the State of California’s Traffic Congestion Relief Program (TCRP) for VTA’s BART Silicon Valley Extension. The $39 million allocation brought the total amount of TCRP funding received for the extension to $649 million. The California Transportation Commission, who is responsible for overseeing state-funded transportation programs, has allocated a total of $768 million to the project.
VTA’s BART Silicon Valley was identified as one of 53 projects statewide eligible to receive TCRP funds in 2000, when legislation passed creating the program.
Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP)
In May 2018, VTA was awarded $238.4 million of a total award of $750 million from the State of California’s Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP). The additional $511.6 million will be distributed over the life of the project.
TIRCP was created by Senate Bill 862 and modified by Senate Bill 9 to provide grants from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to fund transformative capital improvements that will modernize California’s transit systems while curtailing emissions from greenhouse gases by reducing congestion and vehicle miles traveled throughout the state.
Federal Funding
Pilot Program For Expedited Project Delivery
The Pilot Program for Expedited Project Delivery (EPD) is part of the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Capital Investment Grants Program. EPD is intended to provide federal funding through an expedited review process for transit projects. In this program, the Federal share cannot exceed 25 percent of the project’s cost, requires FTA to use an expedited technical capacity review process, and the project must have a public-private partnership included. EPD aims at increasing innovation, improving efficiency and timeliness of project implementation, and encouraging new revenue streams.
Sponsors eligible to participate in the Pilot Program for EPD must have recently and successfully completed at least one new fixed guideway project; achieved budget, cost, and ridership outcomes for the project that are consistent with or better than projections; and demonstrate that it continues to have staff expertise and other resources to implement a new project.
In November 2018, VTA submitted an Expression of Interest to participate in the Pilot Program for EPD. In June 2019, FTA selected VTA as its first EPD participant, and in August 2019 FTA allocated $125 million to VTA's BART Phase II Project. VTA submitted to FTA a formal application requesting federal funds in 2021 with a Full Funding Grant Agreement to follow. FTA accepted VTA's application in May 2021.
New Starts Program
FTA’s New Starts program is the federal government's primary discretionary financial resource for supporting locally planned, constructed, implemented, and operated major transit projects. This program funds new commuter rail, light rail, heavy rail, and bus rapid transit projects, streetcars, and ferries, as well as extensions to existing transit systems in every area of the country.
VTA submitted an application to enter into New Starts Project Development for Phase II in March 2016, prior to submitting an Expression of Interest to participate in FTA's Pilot Program for EPD. If the Phase II project is not selected to participate in the Pilot Program, VTA has the ability to re-enter the New Starts Program for federal funding.
The largest single public infrastructure project ever constructed in Santa Clara County, VTA's BART Silicon Valley Phase II Project (Phase II) will extend BART service 6-miles from the Berryessa Transit Center into downtown San José and ending in the City of Santa Clara.
Phase II is estimated to carry 54,600 passengers each weekday to destinations throughout the Bay Area by 2040. Completion of the project will finally "ring the bay" with frequent rail service.
Phase II is planned to include:
Project Benefits
- Ringing the Bay: Enjoy a one seat ride from San José and Santa Clara to destinations all around the Bay Area through frequent and reliable transit.
- A Faster Ride: Skip traffic lights and congestion by hopping on BART. Read, text, or listen to music, and you will be at your destination before you know it.
- Economic Vitality: In addition to jobs created during engineering and construction, Phase II will connect communities to thousands of jobs around the Bay.
- Reducing Construction Impacts: Our innovative single-bore method will minimize street level impacts and business interruption to the extent possible.
- Spurring Transit Oriented Communities: A once in a century opportunity to create equitable and walkable places to live, work, shop, and play through compact, mixed-use development around transit.
- Cleaner Air: With improved transit and transit oriented communities, there is less need to drive. Fewer auto trips means reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
Funding Strategy
In order to make Phase II a reality, a diverse funding strategy has been identified for this project with varied revenue streams. Voters approved multiple local and statewide measures, showing their support for bringing BART service into Santa Clara County.
Below provides a more in depth look at the funding strategy for the project. The project cost estimate and funding strategy will be updated as the project advances in design and engineering.
Local Funding
2000 Measure A
On August 9, 2000, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Board of Directors voted to place a 30-year half-cent transit sales tax on the November 7, 2000 General Election ballot, giving Santa Clara County voters the opportunity to vote on transportation improvements in the county including construction of a BART extension from Alameda County to Santa Clara County.
Measure A was approved by 70.3 percent of the voters and collection of the tax began in April 2006 to help fund design and construction of VTA’s BART Silicon Valley project.
2008 Measure B: Operation and Maintenance Funding
On November 4, 2008, an additional Santa Clara County ballot measure supporting the BART extension passed, receiving 66.78% of the vote, exceeding the two-thirds super majority. The 30-year eighth-cent Measure B sales tax will generate dedicated revenue to fulfill VTA's obligation to BART for the operation, maintenance, and future capital reserve of the extension VTA constructs.
2016 Measure B
In June 2016, the VTA Board of Directors unanimously adopted the framework and funding amounts to place an additional half cent 30-year sales tax measure on the November 8, 2016 ballot to help fund transportation priorities. An extensive 18-month public outreach process gathered input and suggestions on how to best improve the transportation needs of Santa Clara County. Through this process, a list of categories and transportation projects was approved, including a plan to invest $1.5 billion in Phase II of VTA’s BART Silicon Valley Extension.
2016 Measure B, which required a two-thirds majority vote, was approved by voters by more than 71 percent of the vote and collection of the half-cent sales tax began in April 2017.
Regional Measure 3
In June 2018, 55 percent of voters in nine Bay Area counties approved Regional Measure 3. This measure added a $1 toll increase on seven state-owned bridges in January 2019, with additional $1 increases in 2022 and 2025. Regional Measure 3 will provide $375 million to Phase II.
State Funding
Traffic Congestion Relief Program (TCRP)
In August 2014, VTA received the sixth and final allocation from the State of California’s Traffic Congestion Relief Program (TCRP) for VTA’s BART Silicon Valley Extension. The $39 million allocation brought the total amount of TCRP funding received for the extension to $649 million. The California Transportation Commission, who is responsible for overseeing state-funded transportation programs, has allocated a total of $768 million to the project.
VTA’s BART Silicon Valley was identified as one of 53 projects statewide eligible to receive TCRP funds in 2000, when legislation passed creating the program.
Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP)
In May 2018, VTA was awarded $238.4 million of a total award of $750 million from the State of California’s Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP). The additional $511.6 million will be distributed over the life of the project.
TIRCP was created by Senate Bill 862 and modified by Senate Bill 9 to provide grants from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to fund transformative capital improvements that will modernize California’s transit systems while curtailing emissions from greenhouse gases by reducing congestion and vehicle miles traveled throughout the state.
Federal Funding
Pilot Program For Expedited Project Delivery
The Pilot Program for Expedited Project Delivery (EPD) is part of the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Capital Investment Grants Program. EPD is intended to provide federal funding through an expedited review process for transit projects. In this program, the Federal share cannot exceed 25 percent of the project’s cost, requires FTA to use an expedited technical capacity review process, and the project must have a public-private partnership included. EPD aims at increasing innovation, improving efficiency and timeliness of project implementation, and encouraging new revenue streams.
Sponsors eligible to participate in the Pilot Program for EPD must have recently and successfully completed at least one new fixed guideway project; achieved budget, cost, and ridership outcomes for the project that are consistent with or better than projections; and demonstrate that it continues to have staff expertise and other resources to implement a new project.
In November 2018, VTA submitted an Expression of Interest to participate in the Pilot Program for EPD. In June 2019, FTA selected VTA as its first EPD participant, and in August 2019 FTA allocated $125 million to VTA's BART Phase II Project. VTA submitted to FTA a formal application requesting federal funds in 2021 with a Full Funding Grant Agreement to follow. FTA accepted VTA's application in May 2021.
New Starts Program
FTA’s New Starts program is the federal government's primary discretionary financial resource for supporting locally planned, constructed, implemented, and operated major transit projects. This program funds new commuter rail, light rail, heavy rail, and bus rapid transit projects, streetcars, and ferries, as well as extensions to existing transit systems in every area of the country.
VTA submitted an application to enter into New Starts Project Development for Phase II in March 2016, prior to submitting an Expression of Interest to participate in FTA's Pilot Program for EPD. If the Phase II project is not selected to participate in the Pilot Program, VTA has the ability to re-enter the New Starts Program for federal funding.
Timeline
Title
Alternatives Analysis
Phase Date Range
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Title
Environmental Clearance
Phase Date Range
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In a unanimous vote Thursday evening, April 5, VTA Board members approved the staff recommendation for VTA’s BART Silicon Valley Phase II Extension Project. The Board approved a single-bore tunneling... Read more
On April 26, 2018, after review and consideration of VTA's BART Silicon Valley Phase II Extension (Project) Final SEIR and related Findings, Statement of Overriding Considerations, and MMRP adopted by VTA on April 5, 2018, the BART Board of Directors accepted the Project SEIR; adopted VTA's Findings and Statement of Overriding Considerations for the SEIR; and, pursuant to the Comprehensive Agreement, approved the Project.
VTA was notified today by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) that a Record of Decision (ROD) has been issued for the next six miles of VTA’s BART Silicon Valley Extension into downtown San Jose... Read more
Title
Design and Engineering
Phase Date Range
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VTA achieved two critical milestones for the BART Phase II Project being the first transit agency in the nation to submit an application for $1.735 billion through the Federal Transit Administration’s...Read more
The BART Silicon Valley Extension into Downtown San Jose and Santa Clara is moving forward with two critical milestones achieved this week. The Project has advanced to the final step in the... Read more
Title
Construction
Phase Date Range
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As of Spring 2023, this is the current estimated timeline for commencement of major construction activities. This timeline is approximate and will be updated as more information becomes available.