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San Jose BART Extension On Track; Awaits Funding

SAN JOSE (KCBS) - Work on the BART to San Jose extension is moving right along, and some high-level officials got a tour of the project Tuesday along the Union Pacific corridor in Milpitas.

"The thing that really makes Santa Clara County stand out from the crowd is the commitment of local dollars," said Department of Transportation Secretary Roy Kienitz as he toured the construction.

The project still lacks $900 million in federal funding.   Santa Clara County Valley Transportation Authority expects the funding to come through early next year.  The full project is expected to cost $6 billion.

Even though the completion of the 10-mile extension from Warm Springs to Berryessa is still at least eight years away, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren said that's relatively fast in transit building terms.

"Anybody who has been to London and been on the underground should recall that took really 100 years," said Lofgren. "The Metro in Paris took a long time too, so we're way ahead of schedule."

VTA officials eventually want to the BART extension to reach downtown San Jose and Santa Clara. 

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