Posted at 11:23 a.m. PST Friday, Nov. 9, 2001 
   
Santa Clara County Transportation Board approves BART deal

   BY BAY CITY NEWS SERVICE
   
   SAN JOSE - The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority Board of
   Directors today unanimously approved an agreement with BART that could
   bring the transit system to downtown San Jose by 2010.
   
   Transportation authority spokesman John Pilger said the special board
   meeting lasted approximately 90 minutes and there were no dissenting
   votes on extending BART to Santa Clara County.
   
   `The board unanimously selected a BART extension to Milpitas, San Jose
   and Santa Clara as the preferred investment strategy for the Silicon
   Valley Rapid Transit corridor,'' Pilger said.
   
   The board also approved an agreement with the BART system that
   includes a $48 million annual subsidy paid by the authority to BART
   for operations and maintenance costs, Pilger said.
   
   The BART board is scheduled to vote on the agreement on Nov. 13. If
   approved, the project will then be forwarded to the regional
   Metropolitan Transportation Commission for inclusion on the list of
   projects eligible for federal funding.