Dublin Chamber Of Commerce: $20M For Valley Link Included In 2021 Transportation Spending Bill

Press release from the Dublin Chamber of Commerce:

June 11, 2021

Congressman Eric Swalwell announced Monday that the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has included $20 million he requested for the Valley Link project, connecting Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) to the Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) commuter train, in its Fiscal Year 2021 transportation spending bill.

This $20 million specified in the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act of 2021 would help implement Valley Link’s sustainability blueprint, helping to make the project into a national model of environmental sustainability by identifying and integrating costeffective ways to maximize the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions into the system’s planning, design and operation. The 42-mile, 7-station passenger rail project will connect the existing Dublin/Pleasanton BART Station in Alameda County to the approved Altamont Corridor Express North Lathrop Station in San Joaquin County.

“The Valley Link project will fundamentally change the way we travel in the East Bay by reducing traffic congestion – particularly on Interstate 580 – and connecting our communities,” said Swalwell. “Connecting BART to ACE has been among my top priorities since I came to Congress eight years ago, and I am pleased to finally see it included among our national transportation priorities. I’m looking forward to the spending bill’s swift passage so we can deliver on this transformative project.” 

“We are very fortunate to have a Congressional Representative with such a strong commitment to our project goals,” said Tracy Mayor Pro Tem Veronica Vargas, who serves as Chair of the Tri-Valley – San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority Board. “These funds will help us to transform Valley Link into a national model of environmental sustainability and support service expansion to equitably serve some of the state’s most disadvantaged communities.”

Dublin Mayor Melissa Hernandez, Vice Chair of the Valley Link Board, added “Valley Link is essential to our post-pandemic economic recovery. The project will provide access to jobs and job training sites, but will also create up to 22,000 jobs during construction with an economic impact of $3.5 billion. The $20 million request advanced by Congressman Swalwell would represent the first allocation of federal funds to the Valley Link project and will bring us one step closer to bringing relief to nearly 100,000 Bay Area workers now commuting daily through this corridor.”

Federal highway and public transportation programs are funded through multi-year surface transportation authorization acts. Under guidelines issued by the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, each Representative was able to request funding for highway and transit projects in their community, although only a handful are included in this year’s bill. Projects are restricted to a limited number of federal funding streams and limited to surface transportation authorization legislation.

The 42-mile 7-station Valley Link commuter rail service will provide 74 daily round trips and is expected to carry more than 33,000 daily riders by 2040. The project is expected to result in the reduction of approximately 141 million vehicle miles traveled per year by 2040, which will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The first Valley Link trains could be placed into service in 2028.

This press release was produced by the Dublin Chamber of Commerce. The views expressed here are the author’s own.