The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) and Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) opened the Berryessa Extension for revenue service this past week—a milestone that marks the culmination of the first phase of the BART Silicon Valley Extension Program that is expanding BART service into Santa Clara County in California.
The $2.3 billion, 10-mile Berryessa Extension, which broke ground in April 2012, begins south of BART's Warm Springs Station in Fremont, proceeds through Milpitas, and ends in the Berryessa area of north San José. VTA funded, designed, oversaw construction, and will own the infrastructure while BART will operate the extension. The design-build project was built under the Skanska, Shimmick and Herzog (SSH) joint venture. Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, Inc. (LAN) served as the lead designer under the SSH joint venture contract.
“Bringing BART service to Santa Clara County leads us into an era for Silicon Valley where we are forging new pathways for mobility,” VTA General Manager and CEO Nuria Fernandez said in a statement. “With this new addition to our public transit network, we look forward to many years of improved connectivity throughout our region.”
Commuters traveling on I-880 and I-680—two congested corridors that connect residential areas in Alameda, Contra Costa, and San Joaquin Counties to high-technology and other employment centers in Silicon Valley—can now use the Berryessa Extension as an alternative. By taking cars of these congested corridors, the project will help eliminate 3,500 tons of greenhouse gases every year.
With the opening of the two new stations, BART will have a total of 50 stations and 131 miles of track serving five Bay Area counties. The project also provides numerous intermodal options, including connections to VTA light rail and buses, Caltrain, Altamont Commuter Express, Capitol Corridor and Amtrak, Mineta San Jose International Airport, and high-speed rail.
The second phase of the BART Silicon Valley Extension, which is currently in the design stage, will extend BART service 6 miles from the Berryessa Transit Center into downtown San José and terminating in Santa Clara. Four stations are planned for the second phase: 28th Street/Little Portugal, Downtown San Jose, Diridon and Santa Clara. The second phase is expected to be completed in 2030.
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SOURCE: Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam Inc.
