FTA announces Santa Clara VTA first in nation to submit application for expedited project delivery pilot program
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) submitted the first application in the nation under the newly established Expedited Project Delivery Pilot (EPD) Program.
In addition to VTA completing this important step, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced the allocation of $100 million to VTA for the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Silicon Valley Phase II project. This is the second funding allocation to VTA under the EPD Pilot Program. FTA previously announced a $125 million funding allocation to VTA in August 2019. With today's announcement, FTA has allocated a total of $225 million to VTA for the project.
FTA's Expedited Project Delivery Pilot Program is a discretionary program aimed at expediting delivery of new transit infrastructure projects that utilize public-private partnerships, are planned to be operated and maintained by employees of an existing public transportation provider and have a federal share not exceeding 25 percent of the project cost.
By encouraging innovative partnerships and funding from a variety of sources, projects can be completed more quickly thanks to streamlined federal reviews, making better use of taxpayer dollars and bringing new transit service to growing communities, says FTA.
"We are pleased to receive VTA’s formal application – the first in the nation – and announce an additional $100 million dollar funding allocation to VTA as part of FTA’s newly established Expedited Project Delivery Pilot Program," said FTA Deputy Administrator K. Jane Williams. "FTA is proud to provide this federal investment and partner with VTA to create jobs and help communities continue to recover from the COVID-19 public health emergency."
The project is a 6.5-mile extension of the BART system from the Berryessa Station through downtown San Jose to the City of Santa Clara. The total estimated project cost is $6.86 billion and VTA has requested $1.715 billion in federal funding through FTA's Pilot Program.
The funding allocations will be awarded to VTA when the project has met all program requirements needed to proceed to a construction grant agreement.
