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TRANSACTIONS NEWSLETTER ONLINE

June 2003

Regional Accord Paves Way For BART Airport Extension

As anyone who has ever flown into or out of San Francisco International Airport (SFO) knows, the airport actually sits not in San Francisco, but deep in adjacent San Mateo County. In the late 1980s, MTC paved the way for the BART airport extension by facilitating negotiations among several transit agencies, local governments, and state and federal legislators to enable BART to serve SFO.

In addition to the new SFO line, the funding package hammered out by MTC ultimately yielded two completed BART extensions in the East Bay — to Dublin/ Pleasanton and Pittsburg/Bay Point.

MTC sweetened the deal by pledging to make the BART SFO extension the region’s first priority for highly competitive federal New Starts funding. Over the course of more than a decade, MTC worked side-by-side with BART to shepherd the SFO extension through the Byzantine federal grant process, helping to secure a much-coveted full-funding grant agreement from the Federal Transit Administration to provide BART with $750 million in construction funds over several years.

When the project encountered cost overruns, MTC loaned BART $60 million — in part by floating bonds backed by bridge toll moneys — so that scheduled construction could proceed.

Although the SFO extension is up and running, MTC continues to work with BART and the Bay Area’s congressional delegation to deliver the last $280 million in federal funding for the project.

“The new BART airport extension is more than a means of travel — it also is a lasting legacy to the stunning successes that a united region can achieve,” said MTC Executive Director Steve Heminger.
— Deanna Yick

San Francisco International Airport
BART’s new SFO station is located within the International Terminal. (photo by Richard Barnes)

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