Mayor Newsom, Transbay Joint Powers Authority Break Ground on Transbay Transit Center Program

MTC Funding Crucial Part of the Package

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, Caltrans Director Will Kempton and the Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA) participated today in a groundbreaking ceremony for the Transbay Transit Center Program, the visionary transportation and housing project that will transform downtown San Francisco and create a “Grand Central of the West.”

The groundbreaking ceremony launched the first step in the Transbay Transit Center Program — construction of the Temporary Terminal, the temporary facility that will serve bus passengers while the new landmark Transbay Transit Center is under construction. Located on the block of downtown San Francisco bounded by Main, Folsom, Beale and Howard streets, the Temporary Terminal is two blocks from the current Transbay Terminal facility and will serve AC Transit, WestCAT, San Francisco Muni, Golden Gate Transit, SamTrans and Greyhound passengers.

“This program serves as an example of how to successfully harness the power of public private partnerships for the purpose of building important infrastructure in California — and all at a time when it is vitally important to our economic recovery,” said Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The Transbay Transit Center Program, which will replace the current Transbay Terminal with a new, multimodal transportation center and centralize the region’s transportation network by accommodating nine transportation systems under one roof, will make public transit a convenient option in the Bay Area, much as it is in other world-class cities. The three components of the project — replacing the outdated Transbay Terminal with a modern transit hub, extending the Caltrain rail line 1.3 miles into the heart of the Financial District and redeveloping the area surrounding the Transbay Transit Center with 2,600 new homes (35 percent affordable), parks and a retail main street — will help to return San Francisco to a culture of mass transit, allowing people to travel and commute without the need for a car, thereby decreasing congestion and pollution.

“Today is truly a historic moment for San Francisco and the state of California,” said Newsom. “This groundbreaking marks an important step in building our transportation infrastructure to meet the needs of the 21st Century. The Transbay Transit Center Program is a critical part of San Francisco’s transit-first policy, and with today’s groundbreaking, we are one step closer to creating a truly sustainable city where our public transportation system works seamlessly to enhance the quality of life and economic health for San Franciscans.”

“We are thrilled to be realizing a more than 30-year vision for the Transbay Transit Center with this groundbreaking today,” said TJPA Board Chair Nathaniel P. Ford, Sr. “The Transbay Transit Center Program is a much-needed investment in public transportation infrastructure, as well as in the redevelopment of the Transbay redevelopment area.” Once completed in 2014, the Pelli Clarke Pelli-designed Transbay Transit Center will serve more than 100,000 people per day through nine transportation systems (eventually including California High Speed Rail to Los Angeles in less than 2.5 hours). The facility was designed to embrace the goals of green architecture and project an image of sustainability. The heart of the Transit Center is “City Park,” a 5.4-acre living roof and public park that will be an oasis of green for the up-and-coming South of Market (SoMa) neighborhood.

“We are very proud to be bringing to the Bay Area the first part of the Transbay Transit Center Project. We look forward to continuing our work with the state of California and the City and County of San Francisco to deliver the rest of the program,” said Maria Ayerdi- Kaplan, TJPA Executive Director.

The TJPA was created in 2001 to design, build and operate the new Transbay Transit Center Program. The new Transbay Transit Center at First and Mission streets will centralize the region’s transportation network by accommodating nine transportation systems under one roof, including AC Transit, Caltrain, Muni, Golden Gate Transit, SamTrans, Greyhound, BART, WestCAT and future California High-Speed Rail. The area surrounding the Transit Center will be redeveloped to include housing, retail and an adjacent tower poised to redefine the city’s skyline.

The Transbay Transit Center and Caltrain Downtown Rail extension Program's estimated $4.185 billion cost, escalated to the year of expenditure, is being funded with a mixture of local, regional, state and federal sources. MTC is covering all of the approximately $22 million cost of the Temporary Terminal construction from Regional Measure 2 bridge toll moneys. In all, MTC is providing $353 million to the Transbay Transit Center project.

Other contributing agencies include the Federal Railroad Administration, the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Transit Administration, the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, the San Mateo County Transportation Authority and Caltrans.

For more information about the project, please visit www.transbaycenter.org.

For more information on the Transbay Temporary Terminal, please visit temporaryterminal.org.