Liccardo says San Jose BART needs to be downscaled
Former mayor says he's thought about reining in expensive project since 2022
Former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo says the project to bring BART to the city's downtown needs to be scaled down, citing ballooning costs that have now amounted to $12.2 billion, a stunning admission coming from arguably the transit extension's greatest supporter over the years.
In an interview on Jan. 18, Liccardo said he would like to see a section of the project — the connection between San Jose's Diridon Station and Santa Clara — nixed from the proposal and possibly finished at another time, citing the fact that Caltrain already covers the route.
He also said he's thought about reining in the project since the beginning of 2022, while he was mayor and fending off reports of cost estimates exploding, but was optimistic at the time that federal funding would adequately cover the price of the extension, now considered one of the most expensive transit proposals in America.
“We've got a situation in this country where transit construction costs are wildly out of control,” said Liccardo, who is currently running for District 16's congressional seat. “We need to find better ways to build. And in the meantime, we have to build within our budget.”
Though Liccardo doesn't currently hold any sway over the BART plans, his flip on it will almost certainly raise serious questions about the future of the project with the Valley Transportation Authority's administration
and Mayor Matt Mahan, another champion of the extension, most seriously the fact that there are plans to spin up the project's tunnel boring machine starting near Santa Clara's station. In November, VTA purchased the worm-like device
from Germany for $76 million, with plans to start construction in 2025.
In a statement, VTA'S Chief Megaproject Officer Tom Maguire said the agency “has a defined path forward that is voter-approved and supported by the Board of Directors and the public. At present, we are at work on the remaining six-mile extension that will run from Berryessa Station and include stations at 28th Street/little Portugal, downtown San Jose, Diridon and Santa Clara.”
Mahan was unable to comment before deadline.
The news comes a day after a report from VTA'S auditor general came to light that found that the agency misled the public and its governing board over the cost of the project. The scathing assessment found that VTA had applied for federal funding using cost projections that they were publicly dismissing, and that the agency's staff was disregarding independent estimates that showed prices for the project rising quickly — a series of actions that auditor Scott Johnson described as a “breach of transparency” in his Jan. 11 report. On Jan. 19, Liccardo declined to comment on the auditor's findings.
In October, VTA officials announced the most recent increased cost estimate and launch date of 2036 — more than double the original 2014 projection and a decade later than expected — citing inflation-related pressure and rising material prices. The news sparked the VTA'S Board of Directors to launch a watchdog group overseeing cost and timeline concerns.
As the project currently stands, the six-mile extension would run underground from San Jose's Berryessa station to 28th Street/little Portugal, through the city's downtown, before finishing in Santa Clara near the Caltrain terminal. In total, the project will add four stations, creating a “ring of transit” around the Bay Area, from San Francisco to Oakland, down south to San Jose and up again to the Peninsula.
Plans have been in the works for decades on the extension. Since 2000, Santa Clara County residents have approved multiple sales tax measures to help fund the project at a local level. The federal government announced in 2021 that it would step in with additional funding.
More recent concerns surrounding costs began after a federal assessment of the project obtained by this newspaper in 2022 revealed that the extension's price was skyrocketing, from $6.9 billion to $9.1 billion, though both VTA and former mayor Liccardo were quick to push back on the estimate. Text messages obtained through a public records request showed Liccardo tried to hide the increasing costs, with the former mayor saying the secrecy was necessary to help save taxpayers money because contractors were actively bidding on the project.
Questions about the connection between Santa Clara and Diridon have also been an issue for years. The connection was considered necessary at first for the fact that Caltrain was perceived as a transit option with limited service in the early 2000s — but has since bolstered its service and is planning on bringing electrified locomotives by the fall of this year.
Local transit activist Monica Mallon, who used to support cutting the Santa Clara stop but was convinced otherwise by Liccardo in previous faceto-face meetings, said she was “shocked” at the former mayor's new stance. She said cutting the station would be a disservice to Santa Clara residents, who have been part of the tax measures funding the project.
“I don't think this is the time to argue and fight about this,” she said. “We need to stick together and continue along the path that has been promised to the voters.”