San Jose Rail Extension Clinches Final Funding Piece

“A long-awaited East San Jose transit extension is finally closer to happening after local and state officials announced Monday that the last slice of funding for the $530 million plan has been secured,” reports Gabriel Greschler in The Mercury News.

The $46 million, which completes the project’s budget, will come from the California Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program and will fund a 2.4-mile light rail extension that will connect residents as far south as Eastridge to the greater Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system. “In addition to the state’s funding announced on Monday, the bulk of the project is being financed through $313 million of Measure A funds, a pool of cash approved by voters in 2000 through a 30-year sales tax increase. An additional $130 million comes from Regional Measure 3, a bridge toll increase passed by voters in 2018.”

The light rail line will cut travel time from 11 minutes on the only existing bus service to roughly four and a half minutes. See the source article for more details on the project and on the transit improvements happening across the entire San Francisco Bay Area.