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The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit train, referred to as BART (photo: Adobe Stock)

The new rail line will be the largest single public infrastructure project ever constructed in Santa Clara County, and by 2040, is expected to carry nearly 55,000 passengers each weekday.

BART’s Phase II consists of a six-mile extension with four new stations and five-and-a-half miles of tunnel, linking San Jose area riders to the rest of the system. Bechtel Infrastructure Corporation has executed a ten-year contract to manage BART’s Phase II extension and begin overseeing construction later this year.

“This latest rail extension will provide a fast and convenient transit alternative for major commute corridors,” said Bechtel Infrastructure Corporation Senior Vice President, Kelvin Sims.

Bechtel, as part of a joint venture, led the design and construction of the original BART system, which went on to form the backbone of the Bay Area’s public transport infrastructure. Bechtel also oversaw the engineering and construction of Phase I of the Silicon Valley Line, which first welcomed passengers in 2020.

Tom Maguire, Chief Megaprojects Officer, VTA, said, “One-third of upcoming growth in the San Francisco Bay Area is expected to occur in and around San Jose and this extension further into the Silicon Valley will support that growth and continue to connect the region.”

History of Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system 

The Bay Area Rapid Transit District asked a Bechtel joint venture to develop engineering data, a preliminary design, and estimates for a radically new rapid-transit system. The plans were approved in 1962 and the joint venture was given the green light to perform detailed engineering and manage construction.

The project team constructed the 3.6-mile- (5.8-kilometer-) long underwater passage in 57 sections. Fabricated above ground, the concrete-and-steel modules were floated into place, immersed – with their ends sealed – into a trench spanning the bottom of San Francisco Bay, between San Francisco and Oakland. Crews made watertight connections between the sections, removed the end caps, and secured the entire tube.

The BART project’s most dramatic feat, the Transbay Tube, a submerged tube across San Francisco Bay, was completed in 1969. The project also included a hard-rock tunnel through the Berkeley hills.