The Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA) is making exciting progress on building the new Transbay Transit Center, the “Grand Central Station of the West.” A groundbreaking ceremony on December 10, 2008 marked the formal commencement of the program beginning with construction of the Temporary Terminal that will serve passengers while the new, multi-modal Transbay Transit Center is under construction.
The Temporary Terminal is scheduled to be completed in early 2010. Following completion, transit operators will conduct test drives on the site. AC Transit, MUNI, Greyhound, WestCAT Lynx, and Golden Gate Transit operations are expected to move to the site in late Spring 2010. SamTrans and Golden Gate Transit operations will move to the Temporary Terminal in Fall 2010.
The timeline for the opening of the Transit Center is later than earlier projections. This is not a result of delays in the construction of the Temporary Terminal, but is driven by the pursuit of federal stimulus funding for the underground train box for the Transbay Transit Center. Currently, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is considering which areas of the country will receive funding as part of an $8 billion federal stimulus package that President Obama billed as a first step toward a nationwide system of high-speed trains linking the nation's largest cities. The train box for the Transbay Transit Center is a leading contender to receive funds, and if it does, the TJPA would advance the construction of the rail levels of the Transit Center into the initial phase of construction. It was initially anticipated that the FRA might make its decision about the stimulus funds in October 2009, but a decision is now expected to be made sometime between December 2009 and March 2010.
Because the inclusion of the train box will affect the first elements of construction and it is not necessary to activate the Temporary Terminal until we are ready to begin construction of the Transit Center, the schedule for opening the Temporary Terminal has been extended pending the FRA's stimulus funding decision. Once the decisions are made and Transit Center construction plans can be firmed up, TJPA will be able to set a move-in date for the Temporary Terminal. In the meantime, please continue to check back for updates to our project schedule.
December 2008
Transbay Temporary Terminal Groundbreaking.
Fall 2009
Temporary Terminal construction completed.Following completion of the interim bus facility, test runs will be conducted by the transit operators.
Spring 2010
Greyhound, AC Transit, MUNI, WestCAT Lynx and Golden Gate Transit operations move to the Temporary Terminal.Begin demolition of Transbay Terminal; construction of new Transit Center begins.
Summer 2010
Demolition of East Loop (Phase II of Temporary Terminal) completed.
Fall 2010
SamTrans operations move to the Temporary Terminal.
2012
Construction of the Caltrain Downtown Rail Extension to begin.
2015
Construction of the Transbay Transit Center to be completed. Temporary Terminal to close.
