Caltrain Grade Separation
Project STT001 · Public Works
- Special Revenue Funds$2,000,000
- Transportation Impact Fees$2,000,000
Fees paid by new development to offset its traffic impact. Can only fund transportation projects in the City's nexus study.
Source: FY 2026–27 CIP, Fund 351 appropriation.
Grade separation feasibility studies. State planning grants (Caltrain corridor studies), Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board participation. Distinct from the larger CPT005 construction project.
→ See grants & funding- Category
- Studies
- Department
- Public Works
- Spent FY 2023–25
- $134,623
- Estimated lifetime cost
- $2,000,000
›Budget labels for this project
Sources: City of Menlo Park OpenGov CIP detail, project code STT001; resident-facing name shown here is “Caltrain Grade Separation”. Budget worksheet labeled “Caltrain Grade”.
- Estimated lifetime cost
- $2,000,000
- Secured (awarded, received, allocated)
- $1,500,000 + amount to be determined
- Committed, not yet executed
- $0
- Pending application
- $0
- Anticipated (not yet applied for)
- $0
- Funding gap (not yet covered)
- $500,000
›Show source
The lifetime cost estimate is $2,000,000, from 5-year CIP plan total — STUDY phase only (May 30, 2026). Source: https://www.menlopark.gov/Government/Departments/Public-Works/Capital-improvement-projects/Caltrain-grade-separation. The funding gap is the estimated lifetime cost minus all funding that has not been lost, added up from the funding sources listed below. Year-by-year figures come from the City's adopted five-year capital plan.
Funding sources
Each source carries its own status and citation. Expand a row to see the conditions, dates, and source document. “Ongoing” sources are recurring formula funds; sources still being pursued show no dollar amount.
›SMCTA Grade Separation ProgramAwarded$1,500,000San Mateo County Transportation Authority (county) · design and planning
Conditions: Grade separation program funding
SMCTA Grade Separation Program funding for Caltrain Grade Separation project (STT001), publicly disclosed in the June 9, 2026 City Council budget staff report Attachment D.
›General Capital FundAllocated—City of Menlo Park (Fund 501) (city) · study
Conditions: Funding source per CIP plan; specific dollar split not yet confirmed against a Council staff report dedicated to this project.
Future construction will require dedicated grants (FRA, OBAG, state, etc.) — none yet identified for this study line.
Spending by year
Past years are recorded actuals from the City's general ledger. FY 2026 is the adopted current-year budget. FY 2027 through FY 2031 is what the five-year Capital Improvement Plan proposes to spend.
›Where the money went, line by line
| Year | Fund | Category | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY 23 | Capital Project Funds | Services | $74,466 |
| FY 23 | Capital Project Funds | Salaries and Wages | $1,175 |
| FY 23 | Capital Project Funds | Fringe Benefits | $466 |
| FY 24 | Capital Project Funds | Services | $58,516 |
›Show source
Past years are summed from gl_transactions for this project. FY 2026 is the adopted current-year budget for the project. FY 2027 through FY 2031 is what the City's adopted five-year CIP proposes to spend, taken from cip_projects.
Council actions
No Council actions are linked to STT001 yet. As decisions tied to this project are added to the database, they will appear here.
How this project changed between plans
The City publishes a new five-year capital plan each year. Here is how this project's five-year total moved from the FY 2025-30 Adopted plan to the FY 2026-31 Proposed plan.
“Five-year total” is every expense line for this project in each plan (carryover estimate plus new money). The two plans cover different five-year windows, so part of a change can be the window shifting by a year.
5-year envelope decreased from $19,630,376 to $2,000,000. The new plan shows the $2M only in FY 2030-31. Carryover estimate moved from $7,630,376 to $0.
Possible explanations
- The project may have been deferred beyond the 5-year window with a single placeholder appropriation in FY 2030-31.
- Scope may have been reduced or rebundled into a related project.
- The prior carryover estimate may have been re-estimated downward.
These are possibilities to check, not findings. The published data shows the change; it does not state the reason.
What accounts for the reduction in the Caltrain Grade Separation 5-year envelope, and what is the City's current planning posture toward grade separation participation?
›Show source
Each figure is the sum of this project's expense lines in that plan snapshot (view v_cip_plan_comparison, from cip_plan_lines). Flagged questions come from cip_plan_clarifications.