FTA Receives First Application for Transit Pilot Program, Releases Funding for 4 Projects

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) received the first application for its newly established Expedited Project Delivery (EPD) Pilot Program from Calif.’s Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA).

The program aims to achieve faster delivery of new transit infrastructure projects that utilize public-private partnerships, are planned to be operated and maintained by employees of an existing public transportation provider, and have a federal share not exceeding 25% of the project cost.

In addition to completing an application, VTA received $100 million from the FTA for the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Silicon Valley Phase II project. This is the second funding allocation to VTA under the EPD Pilot Program. The FTA previously announced a $125 million funding allocation to the transit agency in August 2019.

The BART Phase II Project is a 6.5-mile extension of the BART system from the Berryessa Station through downtown San Jose to the City of Santa Clara. The total estimated project cost is $6.86 billion, and VTA has requested $1.715 billion in funding through FTA's EPD Program. The funding allocations will be awarded to the transit agency when the project has met all program requirements needed to proceed to a construction grant agreement.

In addition to providing funding to VTA, the FTA announced the allocation of federal funding for three projects through its Capital Investment Grants (CIG) Program. The projects selected for funding include:

• The Valley Metro Regional Public Transportation Authority in Phoenix, Ariz., will receive a total of $529.8 million for a 5.5-mile light rail extension from downtown Phoenix to the South Mountain Village, improving access and mobility throughout the region.
• The City of Kansas City, Mo. Will receive a total of $174.1 million for its 3.5-mile Kansas City Streetcar Main Street Extension Project. The streetcar extension includes nine stations, transit signal priority, and improvements to intersections and sidewalks.
• NJ Transit will receive a total of $766.5 million for the Portal North Bridge project in Hudson County, N.J. The project is construction of a new, two-track fixed structure railroad bridge across the Hackensack River, along the Northeast Corridor to replace the aging bridge.