Transit authority leaders won’t let that happen. Politics rather than good policy analysis drives this train.
In just the last three years, the estimate for the four-station, mostly underground BART extension beyond the Berryessa station has more than doubled, from $5.6 billion to $12.8 billion, and the completion date has been kicked back more than a decade, from 2026 to 2037.Later this year, Bay Area residents should learn whether the federal government will fund about half the cost of the $12.8 billion BART extension through San Jose.
Only then might the transit authority commission an independent review of the tunnel design, reconsider the duplicative last link, from downtown San Jose to Santa Clara, or look to trim stations from the project. For example, consider the roughly five miles of tunneling. The transit agency has migrated from the original traditional twin-bore design to a single bore with platforms stacked one above the other, and then to a single bore containing the two tracks on the same level.
In a statement this week in response to questions from this news organization, a VTA spokesperson said the agency will “update the previous estimates of costs, risks and impacts of the twin-bore design.” Will VTA change its tunnel design for the San Jose BART extension after completing a new cost estimate?
To the extent that money for the extension is not efficiently spent, funds will be lost for other transportation projects in Santa Clara County that are waiting in line.
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