Tunnel contract awarded for BART Silicon Valley extension

The US$235m progressive design build contract is the first in a series of construction contracts to be decided by Santa Clara Valley (VTA).

Contract Package (CP2) will be carried out in stages, with Stage 1 activities including investigation of innovations, engineering and design, open book cost estimates, and the work schedule. It is expected that Stage 1 will be concluded in December 2023. Stage 2 will be the major construction phase, including boring the tunnel under downtown San Jose.  

Three other contracts to be considered in the future will be for the systems, stations, and the Santa Clara Station and maintenance yard. 

Five miles of the six-mile extension to the BART service will be a large diameter single-bore tunnel. The BSVII project will take the BART service from Berryessa/North San José through downtown San José to the City of Santa Clara. It includes three stations with underground platforms (28th Street/Little Portugal, Downtown San José, and Diridon), one ground-level station (Santa Clara), a train maintenance and storage facility at Newhall Yard, and additional facilities.

The VTA Board also approved a request to review previously completed assessments comparing single and twin-bore tunnel methodologies, in with the initial contract work.