The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) today announced the advancement of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority’s (VTA) Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Silicon Valley Phase II project.
The project is a 6-mile extension of the BART system from the Berryessa Transit Center into downtown San Jose and the City of Santa Clara, which will bring rail service to more than 1.7 million residents in Santa Clara County. This is the first project to be delivered under the Expedited Project Delivery (EPD) Pilot Program, according to a press release from the FTA.
The FTA issued a Letter of Intent (LOI) to VTA announcing the intention to obligate funds for the project and laying out several conditions that VTA must meet within the next two years to allow the project to be considered for a Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA). If VTA fulfills the requirements of the LOI, FTA will award an FFGA for the project.
"Linking San Jose with the East Bay and San Francisco will give millions of residents all over the Bay Area a convenient and reliable option to get to work, school, shopping, and health care," Ray Tellis, FTA's Region 9 Regional Administrator, said in a statement. "Adding this route will take thousands of cars off the road, helping reduce traffic jams and the climate impact that comes with them.”
FTA says the agency is required by law to evaluate proposed EPD Pilot Program projects against a number of criteria and ensure that the prospective grant recipient demonstrates the technical, legal, and financial capability to implement the project.
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SOURCE: Federal Transit Administration
