The whir and thunks of heavy equipment hauling clay and soil from underground could be heard throughout the Newhall Maintenance Yard on Monday, as VTA begins construction on the BART expansion through Silicon Valley.
Contractors have been working in the yard 22 hours a day since June 9 pulling bentonite — a clay-like material — from more than 80 feet below ground and installing reinforced concrete to create a launch structure for the tunnel boring machine. The agency plans to use a single-bore tunnel for the 5-mile stretch beneath downtown San Jose.
VTA began preparations April 2024 on the 6-mile expansion, which includes a 5-mile underground tunnel and four new stations across San Jose and Santa Clara. The cost is tagged at $12.75 billion.
@sanjosespotlight The whir and thunks of heavy equipment hauling clay and soil from underground could be heard throughout the Newhall Maintenance Yard on Monday, as VTA begins construction on the BART expansion through Silicon Valley. Contractors have been working in the yard 22 hours a day since June 9 pulling bentonite — a clay-like material — from more than 80 feet below ground and installing reinforced concrete to create a launch structure for the tunnel boring machine. The agency plans to use a single-bore tunnel for the 5-mile stretch beneath downtown San Jose. VTA began preparations April 2024 on the 6-mile expansion, which includes a 5-mile underground tunnel and four new stations across San Jose and Santa Clara. The cost is tagged at $12.75 billion. The initial work, including the launch station, is being done by Kiewit Shea Traylor. But the BART Silicon Valley Phase II Oversight Committee has approved recommendations to find another contractor for the tunnel boring, after the agency and Kiewit Shea Traylor couldn’t agree on a price. The VTA board of directors will consider the recommendation at its meeting Thursday. Read the full story at SanJoseSpotlight.com. #VTA #BART #transit #sanjose #siliconvalley
The initial work, including the launch station, is being done by Kiewit Shea Traylor. But the BART Silicon Valley Phase II Oversight Committee has approved recommendations to find another contractor for the tunnel boring, after the agency and Kiewit Shea Traylor couldn’t agree on a price. The VTA board of directors will consider the recommendation at its meeting Thursday.
Tom Maguire, VTA chief megaprojects delivery officer, said they don’t have a specific dollar amount on how much the agency could save, but VTA has spoken with 10 other potential contractors and heard multiple cost estimates well below Kiewit Shea Traylor’s offer.
“The prices we’ve seen from the current contractor are nearly double our budget, we just can’t work with those,” Maguire said at a news conference.
The public transit agency has been looking for more ways to save after being awarded a $5.1 billion federal grant in August 2024. While the grant will cover about 40% of the project’s costs, it still leaves VTA with a roughly $1 billion gap.
Maguire added the agency has already found about $400 million in savings through design cuts, such as modifying the four stations’ designs and converting expensive parking structures to surface lots.
Despite looking toward changing contractors, VTA Director of Construction Sarah Wilson confirmed the launch structure that’s being built will be used regardless of who takes on the project.
“We want them to install this launch structure and we fully intend to use it,” Wilson said.
Wilson said it could take about two years to finish building the launch structure. Construction goes from 6 a.m. to 4 a.m., and she said the agency is looking for approval from San Jose and Santa Clara to extend work hours to a full 24-hour cycle.
The agency installed noise barriers and used water to keep dust down around the construction site. If neighboring residents or businesses have concerns with noise or other impacts from the construction, she encouraged them to reach out to VTA’s hotline. So far, Wilson said they’ve heard no complaints.
Maguire estimated VTA could bring on a new contractor before 2027. He said that would delay the tunneling, but the agency still aims to open the extension by 2037.
“Our challenge right now is to find a way to build the tunnel faster and to build the other aspects of the project — the four stations, the yard, all the construction above ground — in a way that compresses the schedule,” Maguire said. “We’re confident we’ll make that happen.”
Contact B. Sakura Cannestra at [email protected] or @SakuCannestra on X.
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