BSVII Project Update   

The BART Silicon Valley Phase II (BSVII) project is making steady progress after achieving a significant milestone in late 2024 with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) accepting the project into the final phase of the federal funding process known as New Starts Engineering. The FTA has committed $5.1 billion to the project which is the second-largest award ever received through the Capital Investment Grant Program. This tremendous financial support sets a strong foundation for the project, allowing VTA to concentrate on aligning project costs with the available budget.     

Efforts are underway to address three key challenges: bridging a $700 million to $1.2 billion funding gap, ensuring contractors can build within VTA’s budget, and securing a Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) with the FTA. Before VTA can apply for an FFGA, the project’s budget must be balanced. VTA is considering when the most optimal timing of this application will be, while the new Federal administration sets funding transportation infrastructure priorities, and other states submit their applications.     

In December 2024, VTA held a productive workshop with the FTA and the Project Management Oversight Consultant (PMOC) to review key cost-saving concepts and brainstorm additional strategies to reduce costs. With a strong project rating, VTA remains well-positioned to submit for an FFGA once the budget is aligned.      

Project Costs Savings Measures Underway   

Since Fall 2024, VTA has been actively pursuing cost-saving measures to align the BSVII project with its current budget. Following extensive discussions with the VTA Board and Community Working Groups (CWGs) through February 2025, VTA has identified cost savings of $352 million thus far.   

These cost-saving strategies identified to date include:   

• Revisiting criteria and requirements assessment with BART, which resulted in $187 million savings.   

• Converting 28th Street/Little Portugal parking structure spaces to surface parking on opening day, which resulted in $77 million savings and preserves opportunities for Transit Oriented Development.   

• Refining station designs for 28th Street/Little Portugal, Downtown San José, and Diridon stations, which resulted in $68 million savings, while preserving the passenger experience.  

• Using owner-supplied materials, which resulted in $20 million savings.   

Additionally, VTA is exploring further cost-saving opportunities through specialized task force teams composed of engineers and technical experts and expects to provide an update on cost estimates this April. Additional cost savings concepts, being considered, include:    

• Assessing a smaller single-bore tunnel from the east for tunneling with two tunnel boring machines.    

• Exploring refinements to improve efficiency of storage and operations at the Newhall Yard & Maintenance Facility in coordination with BART. This exploration could potentially result in changes to the parking configuration at the Santa Clara Station by converting parking structure spaces to surface parking. VTA is continuing important discussions with BART to identify potential phasing opportunities at the Newhall Yard and Maintenance Facility. The cost savings are currently estimated to be greater than $40 million.   

• Exploring alternative ways to build critical structures within the tunnel.   

• Evaluating various alternative concepts to strengthen temporary and permanent structure walls, estimated to be less than $5 million in cost savings.   

• Researching disposal sites that may not charge disposal fees for off-haul of the tunnel muck soil, estimated to be less than $10 million in savings.   

These strategic efforts underscore VTA’s commitment to delivering the BSVII project within budget while maintaining high standards of design and operational efficiency.    

Construction Update   

Construction activities are currently focused on the west end of the BSVII project corridor, where the tunnel launch site is located between Brokaw Road and I-880.  Since June 2024, VTA has been conducting site prep work, including improvements to drainage, roads, utilities, and fencing, while collaborating closely with local stakeholders.