Gilroy
— For the second year in a row, federal transportation officials
have told Congress not to provide funding to Bay Area Rapid
Transit’s planned extension to San Jose without credible ridership
projections and a solid funding plan.
Gilroy— For the second year in a row, federal transportation officials have told Congress not to provide funding to Bay Area Rapid Transit’s planned extension to San Jose without credible ridership projections and a solid funding plan.
“I was expecting this,” said Santa Clara County Supervisor Don Gage, who also is a member of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority’s board of directors.
Last year, the federal agency also advised Congress not to give any money toward the plan to extend BART about 16 miles from Fremont to downtown San Jose.
By not recommending the BART extension, the federal agency spurned supporters’ request for $973 million to help pay for the project.
Federal Transportation Authority officials believe it will cost $6.2 billion to build the extension, up from original estimates of $4.1 billion.
Critics of the extension said the recommendation supported their contention that the South Bay can’t afford the project.
“There’s a lot of work that has to be done and without that money it’s going to be very difficult,” Gage said. “If the feds don’t come through, then the state’s not going to come through, and we have to have that money to do BART.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
