Overview
- Crew finished excavating and casting an 83-foot-deep launch shaft and 1,100-foot ramp near PayPal Park, a key structure that will host the 53-foot-diameter tunnel-boring machine.
- The TBM must still be shipped from Germany, reassembled and lowered into the shaft, and tunneling is planned to begin in early 2028 with expected excavation rates of about 30 to 40 feet per day.
- VTA now says costs have risen materially above the prior $12.7 billion estimate and officials report a remaining funding gap of roughly $700 million after a smaller federal grant.
- Agency leaders are preparing an ‘adaptive’ plan for the VTA board in December that could include phasing work, reordering stations, or studying alternative technologies such as light rail or autonomous trams.
- The program faces sustained oversight pressure from a Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury and local officials, and rising costs and schedule risk could delay benefits for commuters and raise longer-term operating costs.