The California Transportation Commission Friday allocated $1 billion for projects aimed at solving mobility challenges and aiding California’s continued effort to make the highway system more resilient to climate change.
“These investments will harden the transportation system against the devastating results of extreme weather events,” said Caltrans Director Tony Tavares. “The allocations made today will add to the electric charging infrastructure, increase mobility options for people who walk and bicycle, and enhance our goal to improve safety and economic equity for all users.”
Of the total investment allocated this month, nearly $623 million comes from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA). Another $295 million comes from Senate Bill (SB) 1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017.
Among the projects approved:
· $15 million for the installation of electric charging infrastructure to power electric buses at San Mateo County’s SamTrans system.
· $9.5 million to help pay for new bike lanes, crosswalks, pedestrian push buttons, signal heads,s and other safety upgrades on an 8-mile segment of SR-82 in Santa Clara County.
· $6 million for the city of Sacramento to help build a new light rail station serving Sacramento City College.
· $114,000 for the construction of service bays needed to maintain a new fleet of fuel cell electric buses to serve Humboldt County.
District 11 Projects Include:
· $126.2 million on SR-78 in Oceanside, Carlsbad, Vista, San Marcos, and Escondido, from Route 5 to North Broadway to rehabilitate pavement, upgrade facilities to Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards, upgrade bridge rail and Transportation Management System (TMS) elements, replace damaged sign panels, install fiber optic network, and make operational improvements to reduce delay. This project will extend the pavement service life and improve ride quality.
· $1.8 million to SANDAG on I-805 in San Diego, Chula Vista, and National City, from Telegraph Canyon Road to Federal Boulevard to rehabilitate four bridges to preserve the integrity of the structures and improve safety.
· $4.4 million to SANDAG. The La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians ATP will create a Reservation-wide multi-purpose trail; install traffic signage to increase safety for non-motorized; and install sidewalks on arterial roads on the Reservation.
· $13.1 million to SANDAG and MTS for infrastructure improvements along the 7.9 miles of track and 11 crossings between Massachusetts Ave and El Cajon Transit Center to increase ridership, improve passenger service by implementation of upgraded track signaling system, improve rail speed, station signage, and safety enhancements at rail crossings along the Orange Line.
· $10.2 million to SANDAG for Build North Coast Corridor (NCC) Batiquitos -Construction support, management, and rail safety flagging, community involvement and communication and collaboration activities with partner agencies to improve safety through services, biological surveys, contractor evaluations, geotechnical monitoring, inspections, and roadway worker protection training.
IIJA is a once-in-a-generation investment in our nation’s infrastructure to improve the sustainability and resiliency of the energy, water, broadband, and transportation systems. California has received nearly $62 billion in federal infrastructure funding since its passage. This includes investments to upgrade the state’s roads, bridges, rail, public transit, airports, ports, waterways, and the electric vehicle charging network. The funding alone has already created more than 170,000 jobs in California.
Senate Bill 1 (SB 1) has invested approximately $5 billion annually toward transportation projects since 2017. It provides funding split between the state and local agencies. Road projects progress through construction phases more quickly based on the availability of funds, including projects that are partially funded by SB 1.
For more information visit: Build.ca.gov.