After more than 50 years of providing transportation solutions for the communities it serves, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority is embarking on its largest and most ambitious initiative to date—the VTA BART Silicon Valley Phase II project. Beyond providing six miles of rail transit through San Jose and the city of Santa Clara, the $9.3-billion project represents innovative thinking rarely seen among U.S. transit authorities. The project, which is being developed in partnership with future operator Bay Area Rapid Transit, will leverage progressive design-build contracting to deliver the tunneling package. The second-largest tunnel-boring machine ever deployed in the U.S. will create the first single bore tunnel for a transit project in the country. Given the authority’s eye toward innovation and its ability to work with its industry partners to make its vision possible, ENR California named the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority its 2023 Owner of the Year.
VTA serves 15 cities in Santa Clara County as well as commuters in the San Francisco Bay Area. As a congestion management agency, VTA provides bus, light rail and paratransit services. Additionally, it designs, constructs and maintains transit infrastructure. VTA is also a funding partner in regional rail service, including with Caltrain, Capital Corridor and the Altamont Corridor Express.
