San José Diridon-Airport Connector moves ahead

The City of San José is moving forward with an innovative, dedicated transit solution to connect the city’s two largest transportation hubs: Diridon Station and San José Mineta International Airport (SJC). The City Council voted yesterday to accept a staff recommendation to enter into a pre-development agreement with a group of firms under the name San José Connection Partners, led by equity partner Plenary Americas.

The staff recommendation follows a multi-year process and is based on a competitive request for proposals that was open from May until November of last year. The selection of San Jose Connection Partners was based on the combination of a strong team, an innovative and well-thought-out solution, and competitive costs.

Members of the San José Connection Partners team include:

• Plenary Americas (lead developer and equity provider)
• Glydways (transit technology provider)
• Webcor/ Obayashi (lead design and construction contractors)
• HNTB (lead designer)
• ACI (operations and maintenance provider)

By approving the staff recommendation, the City Council directs the administration to enter the first phase of a multi-phase agreement to develop the project. It will result in a “Project Feasibility Validation Report.” That report will allow the City to validate the technical, commercial, and financial viability of the proposed solution. If the staff validates the proposed approach, the project will again return to Council for consideration and direction to move on to the next phase. The second phase will include further design and environmental study.  

“The San José Connection Partners team is incredibly excited to partner with the City of San José in creating an innovative, new transit solution to better connect the Airport and Diridon Station,” said Dale Bonner, Executive Chairman at Plenary Americas. “We look forward to working with the City and key stakeholders on this project.”

“Diridon Station is poised to become the most significant rail and bus hub on the West Coast in the decades ahead,” said San José Mayor Matt Mahan. “It just makes sense to connect this central station with San Jose’s exceptional airport, which serves over 11 million people per year. I’m hopeful that a public-private partnership will enable us to deliver a seamless connection cost-effectively for both riders and taxpayers.”   

This is an early step in an exciting, first-of-its-kind project for San José. If successful, the Airport to Diridon Connector Project could be expanded to other corridors across San José and the South Bay.

CONTACT
Colin Heyne, Public Information Manager, Department of Transportation
408-858-5963 | colin.heyne@sanjoseca.gov

Keonnis Taylor, Public Information Manager, San José Mineta International Airport
408-392-1199 | sjcmedia@sjc.org