California Transit Project Continues Moving Forward
They say a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. One could say something similar for new grant programs, albeit in this case, it's a single section of track. The Department of Transportation Federal Transit Agency (FTA) this week sent a letter of intent to the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) stating that it plans to obligate funds for its Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Silicon Valley Phase II project, putting VTA in position to be the first ever recipient of FTA’s Expedited Project Delivery (EPD) Pilot Program.
The EPD Pilot Program, authorized by Section 3005(b) of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) (Pub. L. 114-94), is aimed at expediting delivery of new fixed guideway capital projects, small starts projects or core capacity improvement projects. These projects must use public-private partnerships, be operated and maintained by employees of an existing public transportation provider, and have a federal share not exceeding 25% of the project cost. FTA is set to make two allocations totaling $225 million to VTA for its BART Silicon Valley Phase II project.
The project is a six-mile extension of the BART system into downtown San Jose, Calif., and the city of Santa Clara, Calif. “Linking San Jose with the East Bay and San Francisco will give millions of residents all over the Bay Area a convenient and reliable option to get to work, school, shopping and health care,” said Ray Tellis, FTA’s Region 9 regional administrator. “Adding this route will take thousands of cars off the road, helping reduce traffic jams and the climate impact that comes with them.”
The letter of intent lays out several conditions VTA must meet within the next two years to allow the project to be considered for a full funding grant agreement. If VTA fulfills these requirements, it will receive full funding. VTA still must secure and document the commitment of all nonfederal funding for the project and submit revised financial information. It also must provide updated information regarding BART’s systemwide operations and maintenance costs and funding sources since BART will operate and maintain the project.
Hopefully, this project will continue apace and prove to be a successful case study for others that may consider the EPD program.
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Thompson Grants Workshop: Preparing for the Annual Audit | November 18, 2021 | Virtual Event
Federal Grants Forum: Orlando | December 14 - 16, 2021
