Timeline: BART to Silicon Valley project

FREMONT, Calif. - BART is looking for contractors and builders to help them build the extension into Santa Clara County.

Right now, the end of the BART line is in the East Bay. But in 2030, commuters should be able to continue on BART and VTA from Warm Springs in Fremont, all the way to Santa Clara.

This week, directors of the BART Silicon Valley Program, the group overseeing the BART-VTA extension, met with contractors, interested in working on the extension.

Eventually, the BART line will go from Fremont, to Milpitas to north San Jose, and then continue into Santa Clara.

The Santa Clara extension will include three underground stations and one street-level station, making this the largest infrastructure project ever built in Santa Clara County.

“It would be a big boom for the economy as a whole,” said Karl Reed of Bauer Equipment America. “This will help relieve congestion in the area, and something long needed.”

Bernice Alanez, director of business operations for the BART Silicon Valley program, added: “It’s very exciting to see…This big, mega-infrastructure project that will literally change the landscape in Silicon Valley.”

The cost to extend BART to San Jose is more than $2 billion and another $5.5 billion to extend to Santa Clara.  

The new Milpitas and Berryessa BART stations,  was supposed to open two years ago. But VTA officials say crews have run into problems that have extended the timeline. There is no word on exactly when those stations could open.