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Half of the $1.7 billion in funding has been secured, with federal transportation dollars expected to pick up the other half.

The initial plan did not include a stop at the VA Medical Center, but studies indicate a stop there could be worthwhile.

"It's very promising so far and the ridership numbers that would come from a VA station are looking very good," said Jim Linthicum with the San Diego Association of Governments, the regional transit-planning arm for San Diego County.

Linthicum estimated a daily average of 1,600 riders just to the medical center.

Some 16,000 people already ride the blue line south to San Ysidro.

The extension north, Linthicum said, is estimated to add an additional 15,000 to 20,000 riders.

"It would be awesome to have the trolley come here so I would have to drive and spend money on gas," said Vance Hooper, a veteran who comes to the medical center twice a week.

If all goes according to plan, the largest transportation project in the county's history could get underway by 2014.