BART's South Bay Extension Gets $900M Boost From Feds
SAN JOSE (CBS SF)- Monday is a milestone day for the dream of transportation planners to bring BART extension to Silicon Valley. That's when the Federal Transit Administration makes a $900 million commitment to the project.
"That federal funding would not be possible, either, if we did not have the local commitment that has supported this project for the past decade," reasoned Valley Transportation Authority spokesperson Brandi Childress. "It all started in 2000 with Measure A, when voters approved the half-cent sales tax to help construct the extension. And then back in 2008, they also voted for an 8-cent sales tax that's going to help pay for the maintenance and operations of BART."
The BART Silicon Valley/Berryessa Extension has actually been in the works for years, but the federal grant means the project will move forward in a matter of weeks.
"The project groundbreaking for BART is going to happen in April and that's when VTA is going to really hit the ground running," she said.
According to Childress, passengers could be riding BART trains in Santa Clara County by 2017.
KCBS' Chris Filippi Reports:
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