The South Bay got a stop closer to being connected to the Bay
Area Rapid Transit system when nearly $9 million in federal funds
were awarded toward the project.
Gilroy – The South Bay got a stop closer to being connected to the Bay Area Rapid Transit system when nearly $9 million in federal funds were awarded toward the project.
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority received two Federal Transit Administration grants worth $8.81 million to put toward a 16.1-mile extension of its rapid transit system. The funds will be used to reimburse the authority for preliminary engineering work done on the extension, which will connect San Francisco with San Jose, Santa Clara and Milpitas.
“These grant awards are critical milestones that propel us forward on this vital project,” said authority board chairman Dean Chu in a press release. The project “will help fulfill our long-term vision for a complete and effective transportation system in the Bay Area region that will relieve traffic congestion and provide the foundation for smart growth in the future.”
The federal administration also gave approval for the authority to make an Environmental Impact Statement of the extension on the area. The statement, which will look at impacts of the project on the communities that surround the extension as well as the environment, must have final approval from the federal administration.
Voters approved the extension in 2000 by passing Measure A. The federal agency’s permission to compile a statement is a big step forward for the project, Chu said.
The grants and allowance demonstrate “a continued interest on the part of the federal government in the BART extension,” he said. “While we still have issues, these actions show that we are making progress in terms of working cooperatively with the (administration) to resolve them.”
