Governor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday, Nov. 10, announced nearly $1.3 billion in statewide transit awards, including $750 million for The Portal, the project to extend Caltrain from Fourth and King streets into downtown San Francisco, the governor’s office said. The Transbay Joint Powers Authority said the award is $100 million in Cycle 8 funding for preconstruction work and $650 million to help fund construction.
Why it matters: The official project summary says the 2.2-mile extension would take Caltrain, and eventually California high-speed rail, into the Salesforce Transit Center, eliminating a transfer at the current terminus and saving riders up to 60 minutes. TJPA said the project is projected to carry an average of 90,000 daily riders once complete.
The state’s Cycle 8 project list values the total award at $750 million and the project budget at about $7.57 billion. TJPA Executive Director Adam Van de Water and Board Chair Jeff Gee said the remaining funds “will fund construction and help leverage $3.38 billion dollars already committed through the Federal Transit Administration’s Capital Investment Grants program.” Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin called the downtown extension one of the awards that will “make transit cleaner, faster and easier for riders across the state.”
The alignment includes a below-grade station at the Transit Center, a mined tunnel beneath portions of Second and Townsend streets, a new underground station at Fourth and Townsend streets, and an at-grade approach extending to 16th Street, according to the state project summary. Related: the regional transit measure that passed in November.