Valley Link in running for $450 million of Biden infrastructure funds
A commuter train project that would connect the San Joaquin Valley to the East Bay is in the running to receive about $450 million from President Joe Biden's infrastructure bill, the Tri-Valley San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority announced this week.
The project — called Valley Link — aims to unclog the I-580/Altamont Corridor, according to a Rail Authority brief. It also aims to improve air quality by allowing commuters an alternative to driving, according to Wil Ridder, deputy director of the rail authority.
Could a new train unclog Altamont Pass? Your questions about Valley Link, answered
Valley Link would include seven stations stretching 42 miles east from the Bay Area, starting at the Dublin/Pleasanton BART station and ending in north Lathrop.
In the running
The Federal Transit Administration has said Valley Link can compete for a piece of the $18 billion the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act put aside for certain transit projects, according to the Rail Authority.
Clinching $450 million of that money is key to building the first phase of Valley Link, which would connect Dublin/Pleasanton BART to Mountain House, according to Ridder.
Next, Valley Link must detail its costs, environmental impacts and design plans to the transit administration, Ridder said.
How long would Bay Area commutes take on Valley Link?
It depends on your commute — but if your commute takes you through the Altamont Pass, Valley Link would likely make it shorter, according to Kevin Sheridan, the rail authority's executive director.
"This project provides the means for people to get out of their cars in the Mountain House area, or on I-205 or I-580, and catch a train that’s going to take 25 minutes to get over to Dublin/Pleasanton BART," Sheridan said.
"For most commuters that drive over there now, it's more like 45 minutes for them. So it’s giving them at least 40 minutes to an hour back for their life," Sheridan said, when you count time saved in both directions.
Will Valley Link reduce traffic?
The I-580/Altamont Corridor gets more than 105,000 commuters daily, according to a Rail Authority brief.
Valley Link would carry an estimated 33,000 people each day by 2040, a report by the authority found. It is expected to slash vehicle travel by more than 140 million miles that year, the report stated.
Removing a significant number of drivers from the road would likely mean a shorter rush-hour window, Sheridan said.
"When you start adding rail and transit into the mix, that [peak commute] window starts getting less ... you're creating capacity so the amount of congestion spread over the peak hour is less."
Will the train bring more Bay Area 'transplants?'
"They’re kind of already here, right?" Sheridan said of Bay Area "transplants."
One problem the project aims to address is high Bay Area housing costs. For every six jobs in the Bay Area, there is only one house, according to a Rail Authority brief.
The authority has passed policies supporting the construction of new housing near the Valley Link corridor.
And while it's hard to tell how accessible the housing market will be to locals when Valley Link opens, currently, the market favors buyers with lots of cash.
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"There is our population that was born and raised in Stockton and the surrounding (area) … but what we find is when developers go to build new housing developments or to meet regional housing needs, those aren’t necessarily the residents ... that are buying those homes."
Record reporter Aaron Leathley covers business, housing, and land use. She can be reached at aleathley@recordnet.com or on Twitter @LeathleyAaron. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at recordnet.com/subscribenow.
This article originally appeared on The Record: Valley Link train seeks $450 million of Biden infrastructure funds
