BART Release
VTA Release#NR 11-08

 
For Immediate Release                                 
November 7, 2001

BART and VTA Accord on San Jose Extension

BART and Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) today jointly announced that an historic tentative agreement has been reached between the two agencies’ negotiating teams for extending the BART line to San Jose/Santa Clara.

     Willie B. Kennedy, President of the BART Board of Directors said the tentative agreement signals the beginning of a bright new era for the region’s transportation network.

     “This agreement represents a lot of hard work on the part of both agencies over the past several months and fits within the critical framework adopted by the BART Board last spring,” Kennedy said.   

     The $3.7 billion project calls for a 16 mile extension along the Silicon Valley Rapid Transit Corridor serving Milpitas, San Jose and Santa Clara with seven stations.

         “A great amount of credit is due to the visionary voters of Santa Clara County who approved BART to San Jose as part of 2000 Measure A with more than a 70 percent margin,” said VTA Chairperson Manuel Valerio.  “I would like to thank those voters for their vote of confidence in VTA to fulfill their trust.”

"We have reached another major milestone that moves BART to San Jose and Silicon Valley a big step closer to reality," said San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales. "With this agreement, both BART and VTA have made an impressive commitment to achieving a long-term transportation solution that will help commuters throughout the entire Bay region."

    BART Director Thomas Blalock who chairs BART’s Liaison Committee for the project, said that when negotiations began earlier this year, there were major and equally important goals that had to be achieved in any comprehensive agreement between VTA and BART.

     “I’m very pleased to note that this tentative comprehensive agreement has been fashioned to achieve our goals and much more, and will be the cornerstone of our partnership with VTA.” Blalock said.  “I believe the partnership we will be entering into will result in a greatly enhanced quality of life for the Bay Area in the years ahead by offering a transit option in one of the most heavily congested corridors in the Bay Area.” 

     Other members of the BART Liaison Committee are: BART Board President Willie B. Kennedy, BART Directors Dan Richard, James Fang, and Pete Snyder (alternate).  The VTA Liaison Committee members are: Manuel Valerio, Chairperson of the VTA

Board and Sunnyvale City Council member; San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales, Vice Chair of the VTA Board, San Jose City Council member; Cindy Chavez, San Jose City Council member; Judy Nadler, Santa Clara City Mayor; and  Santa Clara County Supervisor Pete McHugh. 

     BART General Manager Thomas E. Margro said that under this agreement BART and VTA  will work together to plan, design, construct, operate, and maintain the new line which will stretch between Fremont and San Jose/Santa Clara.  

     “The connecting link of the new line will be BART’s long planned five and a half mile Warm Springs extension, “ Margro said, noting that a supplemental Environmental Impact Report is underway for the Warm Springs link. 

    Both the VTA and BART governing boards must ratify the agreement.  The VTA Board is expected to take action on the agreement at a special meeting this coming Friday, November 9.  The BART Board will take up the agreement at a special meeting on Tuesday, November 13.

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San Jose City Hall      801 N. First St., San Jose,  CA 95110      tel (408) 277-5131  fax ( 408) 277-3131     www.ci.san-jose.ca.us