The long-awaited joint effort to bring BART to the South Bay marked another milestone Tuesday as officials signed off on the final step for the $2.3 billion North San Jose extension and announced it would begin service June 13.
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and Bay Area Rapid Transit held a signing ceremony to certify the safety and security of VTA’s Silicon Valley Berryessa Extension.
The Berryessa Transit Center, 925 Berryessa Station Way in San Jose, was the scene for the signing ceremony and where officials from both agencies jointly announced the opening date.
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors President and VTA Board Chair Cindy Chavez and San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo were among the officials speaking at the event.
State Sen. Jim Beall, who was not present for the event but offered his congratulations on the major milestone, secured billions of New Starts funding as a Metropolitan Transportation Commissioner and through several legislative bills he authored as the Chairman of the Transportation and Housing Committee.
"Efforts to bring BART service to Santa Clara County have been decades in the making," Beall said in a statement. "The resulting mobility, environmental, and quality of life benefits of this 10-mile extension, and the next 6-mile phase underway, will serve us well into the next century."
The California Public Utilities Commission has 14 days to approve the verification of safety and sign off on passenger service on the 10-mile extension.
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VTA owns the extension, including the two new transit centers, Milpitas and Berryessa. BART will operate and maintain the system.
VTA broke ground on the 10-mile, two-station extension in April 2012.
