BART extension may see delay
The 10-mile expansion from Fremont to San Jose might not open until late September of 2019
The long-awaited opening of the BART extension from Fremont to San Jose might not occur until late September of 2019, the most pessimistic forecast yet for the $2.3 billion project.
Officials with the Valley Transportation Authority, which is overseeing construction of the nearly 10-mile line from Warm Springs in southern Fremont to the Berryessa stop in the South Bay haven’t given up hope that it could be ready to carry passengers in mid-March of next year. But neither are they guaranteeing that a March opening is likely. A late September opening is just as possible.
“Given the complexity of this project, everything has to go right (to open in March),” said Dennis Ratcliffe, deputy director overseeing BART’s extension into Silicon Valley for the VTA. “But it doesn’t mean it can’t be achieved.”
VTA officials boasted last year that they were ahead of schedule and planned to open the two stations in December 2017, but testing delays pushed that date back to the originally planned June 2018 opening. But earlier this year, VTA officials said they needed a little more time before handing off the new stations
and trackway to BART for testing and projected the opening could be as late as March 2019.
Most construction has been completed and the VTA is now testing the complicated communications system that controls everything from the speed of the trains to alerts that all doors are locked or that the dozens of fans at the stations are working as planned. By July 1, VTA hopes to turn train control over to BART, at which point there will be up to eight months more of testing.
But it’s like putting together a complicated electronic puzzle, officials say. When one area is tested, others need to be tested — often one at a time.
A big challenge is integrating BART’s aging infrastructure with modern technology. It look longer than expected for VTA staff to install its closed circuit television system, station security cameras and public address system at the stations, all of which need to be tied into BART’s communications network.
Projected opening dates for new BART stations have often been missed. The 5-mile Fremont to Warm Springs segment opened more than a year after BART had first predicted. And the extension to Berryessa will open nearly three years after officials first hoped, if it comes late next year.
VTA says the delays should not cost the agency more money and it expects to come in $150 million under budget. Just not ahead of schedule.
The delays have had a ripple affect. The VTA has put off extensive bus and light rail changes linked to BART’s arrival, which were slated to begin January and bring in 23,000 riders a day to the new stations.
Riders eager to get out of their cars and onto new transit options have perhaps 15 more months of creeping down freeways.
“Bummer,” said Manny Garcia of San Leandro who commutes to North San Jose. “I knew they probably would not open anytime soon. I just hope they get it ready as soon as they can.”