Transbay Terminal / Caltrain Downtown Extension Project Receives FTA Approval.

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Transbay Terminal / Caltrain Downtown Extension / Redevelopment Project reached an historic milestone yesterday, with the issuance of a Record of Decision (ROD) by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).

Signed by FTA Regional Administrator Leslie Rogers, the ROD confirms that the Transbay Terminal Project has satisfied all of the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). The receipt of the ROD completes the extensive federal environmental review process for the project, and paves the way for the transfer of 19 acres of State owned property to the project, critical to the financing of the Terminal and Caltrain Downtown Extension Project.

The ROD follows unanimous votes last year by the San Francisco Planning Commission, the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency Commission, the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (Caltrain) and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors certifying the project is in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act.

"I am pleased the Federal Transit Administration approved this visionary project to replace the Transbay Terminal," House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said. "Millions of passengers in San Francisco, the Bay Area, and the surrounding region stand to benefit from what will serve as a national model for transit-oriented development."

The project, co-led by The City and County of San Francisco, the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board and the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, consists of a new, multi-modal Transbay Terminal on the site of the present Transbay Terminal in downtown San Francisco, an extension of Caltrain from its current terminus at Fourth and Townsend Streets to a new underground terminus underneath the new Terminal, and a redevelopment area comprised of approximately 40 acres surrounding the site, including 3400 new housing units. The terminal will accommodate both buses and rail systems, including high speed rail, and is projected to open in 2013.

Senator Don Perata who authored the Bridge Toll Bill that allocated $150 million to the Transbay Project in 2004 responded to the news of the ROD, "This project links visionary land use planning with key local transit connectivity and High Speed Rail. The FTA has put its stamp of approval on a premier regional project."

"FTA's action validates the great progress the TJPA has made in moving forward this historic and critically important project," said Mike Nevin, who is Chair of the TJPA Board of Directors. "This is a major step toward creating what will be one of the largest integrated transportation centers in the country and it is the result of the tremendous support the project has received by our local and regional representatives."

For additional information please contact the TJPA at 415-597-4617.