“Federal officials expect BART’s four-station extension in downtown San Jose could cost as much as $9.1 billion, or about $4.4 billion more than the initial price tag,” the San Jose Mercury News reported this week.
The estimate came from the Federal Transit Administration, which said it is sending $2.3 billion in federal transit funds or a quarter of the final project cost, whichever is less.
Officials with the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), which is overseeing the six-mile extension, issued a statement that did not provide specific figures or directly address the report that the cost is now more than twice the original estimate. The agency acknowledged, however, that there “may be cost increases from preliminary estimates.”
“The project, which will be partly funded by two sales tax measures that county voters approved, has seen its estimated costs climb and completion date pushed back over the years,” the Mercury News stated. “Just three years ago, the VTA estimated the project would cost a total of $4.7 billion and be completed by 2026. The completion date is now 2030. (Source: San Jose Mercury News, October 25.)