Silicon Valley BART extension

The Silicon Valley BART extension is a three-phase expansion of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) from its current terminus in Fremont to Santa Clara County. Extensions to the Warm Springs District and Berryessa District are under construction, while the proposed Downtown San Jose and proposed Santa Clara extensions are both still in need of funding.[1][2][3]

History

Construction on the Warm Springs extension underway in Fremont, September 12, 2012.

Santa Clara County was originally going to have been part of the BART system, but local leaders voted it down. Minor service at Palo Alto right over the border from San Mateo County was also planned originally. However, San Mateo County also opted out, leaving Fremont the closest end of line.

In the late 1990s, planners and community leaders began to plan out a BART extension to San Jose to ameliorate traffic and connect Silicon Valley to the rest of the Bay Area and close the gap in rail service around the bay.

In 2000, Santa Clara County voters approved a 30-year-long half cent sales tax increase to fund BART.[1] The tax did not come into effect until 2006. It became clear that federal funding would not be approved until the county's transit body, the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), could prove that it could operate the BART extension with its own funds in a way that would not be detrimental to its existing transit and transportation infrastructure, following the project's multiple failures to gain congressional approval for this reason.[1] In 2008, to mitigate that fact, the voters were again asked to raise sales tax this time by ⅛ of 1% to come into effect if federal funding of the project were approved.[1][3]

In 2009, it was disclosed that due to worsening economic factors, over its 30-year lifespan, the 2000 sales tax would only bring in $7 billion and not the anticipated $11 billion, so the number of planned stations was reduced.[1][3] The project was cut into phases with service to northern San Jose at Berryessa originally planned for 2018 and proposed to downtown San Jose by 2025 which may or may not include Santa Clara.[1][3]

In 2009, the first phase of expansion in Warm Springs began with the awarding of a $140 million contract to tunnel underneath Fremont's Central Park. The additional $300 million to complete the expansion was contracted out in 2011. Construction began in 2009.[4]

In 2011, VTA awarded a $770 million contract to begin building the first phase of extension to the joint venture Skanska-Shimmick-Herzog. The winning bid was awarded $77 million under initial cost estimates, and the contract is expected to open for revenue service in late 2016, 18 months earlier than previously expected.[5]

On January 10, 2012, the federal government recommended approval of a $900 million grant to fund the Berryessa Extension.[6] The grant was officially awarded by the Federal Transit Administration in March 2012, and the project officially began construction in April 2012.[7] The Berryessa extension is scheduled to open for public service by 2018.[8]

Warm Springs Extension (under construction)

Map of the Warm Springs Extension.

Construction on the Warm Springs extension began in 2009.[4] It will extend the existing track from Fremont by 5 miles, and is the first part of BART's Silicon Valley extension.[9] The line features a cut-and-cover subway underneath Fremont Central Park that required the drainage of Lake Elizabeth.[10]

The Warm Springs extension has been repeatedly delayed.[11] As of May 2011, the start of revenue service was targeted for late 2014.[12] As of late 2011 through mid-2015,[13] the opening was scheduled for the end of 2015.[14][15] As of June 2015, the opening was expected in early 2016.[16] As of September 2015, the schedule was no longer available and hard to predict,[17] although construction was expected to be physically complete by December 2015.[18] While the systems testing phase had been scheduled to take nine months,[19] it is taking longer than expected.[11]

It is not certain when the Warm Springs / South Fremont station will open, because differing reports point to spring 2016,[20] summer 2016,[21] or December 2016,[22] while others indicate that no time frame has been set for opening.[23][24]

Berryessa Extension (under construction)

Map of Phase I and II extensions from Warm Springs to San Jose and Santa Clara.

Construction of the Berryessa extension started in 2012,[25] and it is projected to open for public service in 2018.[8][26] This line will bring BART south from Warm Springs to Berryessa station, with an intermediate Milpitas station (originally to be called "Montague Station") located adjacent to, and connected by bridge to, the VTA's Montague light rail station near the Great Mall of the Bay Area and the Great Mall/Main Transit Center. A proposed third infill station in downtown Milpitas, Calaveras station, has been deferred and would be funded by the city.[1]

In 2009, VTA proposed that the extension could be extended as far as they could afford, and thus only as far as Berryessa until further funding was made available.[1] In 2009, the MTC also changed its rules allowing for toll monies from bridges and HOT lanes to be used for transit projects, opening up more funding for BART expansion and other projects such as VTA light rail extensions and bus or ferry operations, as well.[1] This leg of the extension has been fully funded and in December 2011, VTA awarded a $770 million main contract for its construction.

After funding was secured in March 2012, the construction began in April 2012.[7]

A local industrial park sued on environmental grounds claiming that the extension would reduce its vehicular access and impact its earnings.[27] This lawsuit evokes many parallels to the owner of Artichoke Joe's unsuccessful plan to stonewall the SFO BART extension in the late 1990s and early 2000s.[27][28][29]

Proposed San Jose/Santa Clara extension

A final leg is proposed to the urban core of San Jose for completion in 2025,[26] first to the proposed Alum Rock station on the city's "east side", connected by a tunnel under Santa Clara Street to a proposed Downtown San Jose Station, which would be an interchange station to VTA lines.[1] The original proposal had separate Civic Plaza/SJSU and Plaza de César Chávez stations, but these were consolidated into a single station to save money.[1] The line would continue to the proposed San Jose Diridon Train Station (transfer point to Amtrak, Caltrain, and ACE services), and the proposed BART subway station would be called "Diridon/Arena" (SAP Center). It would either terminate there, allowing for a future extension to the proposed Santa Clara Caltrain Station, or go all the way to that station in the same phase of construction.[1]

Originally the entire extension was proposed as one megaproject, but lower than expected federal funding and sales tax revenue led to both reducing the scope the plan and breaking it up into separate phases.[1] After funding was secured for the first phase in March 2012, VTA began looking for $2 billion to close the remaining funding gap for the projected $4 billion cost of the second phase of the proposed extension to downtown San Jose and Santa Clara.[30] Completion is projected for 2025, contingent on funding.[26]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Gary Richards (May 8, 2009). "BART extension to San Jose moving ahead". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
  2. ↑ Michale Cabanatuan (April 14, 2011). "BART San Jose extension's first phase OKd". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Gary Richards (December 11, 2008). "The VTA priority: BART — and everything else will have to wait". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
  4. 1 2 "On schedule and under budget". August 20, 2010. Retrieved 2015-07-12.
  5. ↑ Gary Richards (December 8, 2011). "BART-to-San Jose extension could open 18 months ahead of schedule". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
  6. ↑ Michael Cabanatuan (January 11, 2012). "BART's San Jose extension closer to funding OK". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
  7. 1 2 "San Francisco's rapid rail gets $900 million for Silicon Valley extension". CNN. March 14, 2012. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
  8. 1 2 "Timeline - Berryessa Extension Project Timeline". Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). Retrieved 2014-08-25.
  9. ↑ "BART - Warm Springs Extension Project Overview". Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART). June 19, 2014. Retrieved 2014-07-15.
  10. ↑ http://www.tricityvoice.com/articlefiledisplay.php?issue=2012-11-20&file=BART+extension+tunnel+3+1A8.txt
  11. 1 2 "BART pushes back opening of Warm Springs Station to next year". KTVU. October 7, 2015. Retrieved 2015-10-09. It was expected to be open by the end of this year, but now BART’s long-awaited 5.4 mile addition from the Fremont line to Warm Springs has been pushed back because testing is taking longer than expected. BART officials said the South Fremont/Warm Springs station won't open until sometime next year. It will be after the first quarter when they know for sure.
  12. ↑ "Warm Springs Extension Project Overview". BART. May 5, 2011. Archived from the original on May 30, 2011. Retrieved 2015-08-12. Commencement of revenue service to Warm Springs Target Late 2014
  13. ↑ "Warm Springs Extension Project Overview". BART. 2011-08-24. Archived from the original on August 24, 2011. Retrieved 2015-10-08. The Warm Springs Extension is expected to open for revenue service in the fall of 2015.
  14. ↑ "Warm Springs Extension Project Overview". BART. 2015-09-18. Archived from the original on September 18, 2015. Retrieved 2015-10-08. The Warm Springs Extension is expected to open for revenue service in the fall of 2015.
  15. ↑ Richards, Gary (August 14, 2015). "2015 Opening for Fremont BART station still on track". San Jose Mercury News. p. A2. BART says that late this year remains the target.
  16. ↑ "BART trains to get longer under $1.6 billion budget plan". sfgate.com. June 11, 2015. Retrieved 2015-06-12. An additional train will be added to the Fremont line when the line is extended to its new end point in Warm Springs. That long-awaited station is now expected to open early next year, a BART spokeswoman said.
  17. ↑ "Warm Springs Extension FAQ - When will the new Station in Warm Springs open?". BART. 2015-09-18. Archived from the original on September 18, 2015. Retrieved 2015-09-18. On a project as complex as WSX it is difficult to predict with certainty when the systems testing phase will be successfully completed and the extension can be certified to begin revenue operations. When available, the anticipated opening date will be posted on the BART website
  18. ↑ "Warm Springs Extension Project Overview". BART. 2015-10-08. Archived from the original on October 8, 2015. Retrieved 2015-10-08. Construction of the design-build Line, Track, Station and Systems (LTSS) contract … is expected to be physically completed by the end of 2015.
  19. ↑ "Project Schedule by Phase" (PDF). 2011-06-27. Retrieved 2015-10-08.
  20. ↑ Parr, Rebecca (February 5, 2016). "Fremont Approves Bart Bridge Project". insidebayarea.com. Retrieved February 7, 2016. The Warm Springs/South Fremont BART station is scheduled to open this spring.
  21. ↑ Ramos, Julian J. (March 10, 2016). "Fremont: Warm Springs BART station opening expected in summer". mercurynews.com. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  22. ↑ "Warm Springs Boulevard Schedule of Construction". City of Fremont. December 20, 2015. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2016. Construction will be completed in advance of BART's Warm Springs station opening. The work by BART on the Warm Springs Station will be completed in early December 2016.
  23. ↑ "Warm Springs Extension Project Overview". BART. 2015-11-24. Retrieved 2016-03-10. Warm Springs Extension Construction Schedule... When available, the anticipated opening date will be posted here.
  24. ↑ Richards, Gary (2016-03-03). "Roadshow: Montague Expressway upgrade coming for BART". mercurynews.com. Retrieved 2016-03-10. Do you have any news about when the Warm Springs BART station in Fremont is going to open? I've seen test trains running between Fremont and Warm Springs...A No date yet, as there is a lot to be done.
  25. ↑ Michale Cabanatuan (March 13, 2012). "San Jose BART extension starts work in April". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
  26. 1 2 3 Gary Richards (2015-12-18). "Roadshow: BART down I-680 not a consideration". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
  27. 1 2 Mike Rosenberg (April 8, 2011). "Milpitas industrial park sues to halt BART extension to Silicon Valley". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
  28. ↑ Rachel Gordon (November 17, 1997). "It's up, up and away for BART SFO extension". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
  29. ↑ Carolyn Lochhead (September 22, 1996). "WASHINGTON INSIGHT -- Artichoke Joe's Almost Got in the Way of BART". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
  30. ↑ Gary Richards (April 15, 2013). "BART extension to San Jose: Heavy lifting about to begin". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 2014-08-25.

External links

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