BART South Bay Coming On Board In Late 2019

MILPITAS, CA -- Almost two decades in the works, South Bay employees who commute between the Silicon Valley and East Bay may find some traffic relief with BART's first phase expected to come on board by the end of this year.

That's when BART is due to complete its first in two phases extending the long-awaited East Bay stretch to Santa Clara County from the Warm Springs station south of Fremont to Milpitas about a quarter mile from the Great Mall where East Capitol Avenue and the Montague Expressway meet. From there, the 10- and 16-mile extensions continue on to Berryessa at the Flea Market and into north San Jose, the Alum Rock neighborhood, downtown and to the Diridon Station where Google's next huge campus is in the works along with the city's revitalization of west San Jose.

As the second phase loops around west, the extension will connect with Caltrain -- a symbolic meeting of the minds between BART and SamTrans. The completion will encircle the San Francisco Bay Area. It's like the endeavor pieces together the Rubik's cube.

The weekday ridership is anticipated to number 24,000 round trips in the first phase. The second phase is about eight years out for completion. Construction may start in a few years -- timing that requires assistance from federal grant funds.

The first phase of the project was delayed over a problem with parts of the communications system. The line and the stations are ready for undergoing testing, an accomplishment in itself for such a heavy construction job that often requires a tug-of-war involving power and money within different jurisdictions.

When BART began its journey into Bay Area hearts and minds in 1970, Santa Clara County had opted out.

"Part of it was about the economy," Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority BART specialist Bernice Alaniz told Patch.

The business owners assumed having the transit commuter train shuttle would ship people out of the area. The notion lines up with the thinking behind the North Bay opting out, which has led to the long-awaited SMART through the Wine Country.

In 2001, an economic study was conducted that showed the value in helping commuters navigate through the Bay Area maze. The Bay Area is a tough nut to crack in terms of geography. First, there's the bay breaking it up. Second, it covers two extremes. San Francisco is a highly-congested metropolis that spans only seven miles across. But the surrounding East Bay spreads out over miles and miles of sweeping freeways. Some aren't even connected, as in the connection between Interstate 680 and 880. Motorists traveling between Fremont and Milpitas have to actually exit on Mission Boulevard, with offramps and onramps collecting lines of vehicles 20 or more long.

Then, there's the worst of the extremes. The S.F. Bay Area is considered a popular, desirable place to live.

Traffic congestion is estimated to increase by 132,000 daily vehicle work trips southbound from Alameda to Santa Clara counties by 2025 - over 25 percent more than what was compiled in 2000 on this overwhelmingly jammed corridor. Even in the off peak periods during the day Interstates 680 and especially 880 can test the patience of any motorist.

Those heading northbound from Santa Clara County will see an estimated number of work trips to Alameda County grow by 48.5 percent to 17,800 trips over the 25-year period that starts from the 2000 study period launch through 2025.

Beginning in March 2001, the Transportation Authority initiated a Major Investment Study for the Silicon Valley Rapid Transit Corridor. The purpose was to address the potential benefits and impacts of alternative forms of transit that get commuters out of their vehicles.

The VTA prepared an Environmental Impact Report that was approved last June for the second phase.

Based on the results of the study, the VTA Board of Directors approved a BART Extension to the cities of Milpitas, San Jose and Santa Clara on the Union Pacific Railroad tracks eight months later.

As part of that equation, 11 VTA South Bay express bus routes expands the options, taking riders to most of the large Silicon Valley employment centers as follows:

• Lockheed/Martin and the Moffett Industrial Park in Sunnyvale
• NASA/Ames and the Shoreline Industrial Park in Mountain View
• Sunnyvale and Mountain View Industrial Parks along Mathilda, Maude and Middlefield;
• Tasman Drive to Baypointe LRT Station in San Jose
• Montague Expressway to the Mission College area, and then along Scott and Arques in Santa Clara and Sunnyvale (Oakmead Industrial Parks)
• Montague to Trimble Road and then to Central Expressway and Kifer Road (Oakmead Industrial Parks)
• Brokaw Road and Airport Drive to the San Jose International Airport and the surrounding office parks
• Milpitas industrial parks along Milpitas Boulevard to the Great Mall area
• San Jose Trade Zone industrial parks south of Milpitas
• Dixon Landing-McCarthy Road
• San Jose Civic Center and downtown San Jose