VTA is a step closer to transforming a huge swath of Bascom Avenue into an improved throughway for pedestrians, bicyclists, drivers, and transit, with new federal funding.

A $2-million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) will fund an early phase of the 3-mile project running from Interstate 880 to Hamilton Avenue, locally referred to as the Bascom Complete Streets Project. VTA will provide a $3 million local match to fully-fund the right-of-way phase of this project.

The highly competitive grant from the DOT’s Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program awarded VTA as one of 81 agencies among more than 430 applicants.

The Bascom project will carry out improvements identified by community members to make the heavily travelled part of the street safer, well-connected, well-maintained, community-oriented and supported by local businesses. When completed, the project will add new signalized pedestrian crossings, separated bikeways for better protection, construct a raised median, add trees, close sidewalk gaps, improve existing intersections, construct transit boarding islands to speed up service, and add lighting safety enhancements.

This project is still seeking additional funding, but plans include beginning construction in the Summer of 2027 with the project taking about two and a half years to complete.