BART breaks ground on subway section of Warm Springs Extension

Top BART, State of California, regional transit and local officials broke ground on the subway portion of the Warm Springs Extension, a 5.4-mile project that will bring BART closer to San Jose.  

"This is more than 5.4
miles of track," BART Board President Thomas Blalock said. "BART’s
Warm Springs Extension is a worthwhile investment in our future. It will save
Bay Area residents money on gas, lessen severe congestion and ultimately go far
in shrinking the carbon footprint from transportation in the East Bay."

The subway portion of the
Warm Springs Extension is a $136-million project to extend BART south through
Fremont Central Park, including under a portion of Lake Elizabeth, and beneath
the Union Pacific freight track to just north of Paseo Padre Parkway. Soon,
BART contractors will begin construction of two ventilation structures and
relocation of a number of amenities within Fremont Central Park, including the
dog park, basketball courts and related parking. The subway work is expected to
take three-and-a-half years. BART hopes to have the Warm Springs Extension in
service by 2014. The City of Fremont is well under way with another key component
of the extension:  an overpass that
would carry BART trains above Paseo Padre Parkway.

The total project budget
for the Warm Springs Extension is approximately $890 million dollars. A number
of funding partners are sharing the cost to build the extension. They are:

    * $220.4 million from the Alameda County
Transportation Improvement Authority, Measure B Tier 1.

    * $100.4 million from the State Traffic
Congestion Relief Program.

    * $176 million from the Metropolitan
Transportation Commission Regional Measure 2 Bridge Toll.

    * $118 million from the MTC, Regional Measure 1
Bridge Tolls.

    * $69 million from the State Transportation
Improvement Program.

    * $2.2 million from the Alameda County CMA.

    * $40 million from Proposition 1B – 50% BART
(Revenue Based), 50% MTC (Population Based).

    * $86 million Proposition 1B State & Local
Partnership Program.

    * $24 million BART Agency Contribution.

    * $54 million SFO Extension Surplus Revenue.