California has announced hundreds of millions of dollars in new investments to improve the state’s infrastructure, and millions are headed to San Diego County.
The California Transportation Commission made the announcement at its December meeting, as part of its broader infrastructure effort, guided by Governor Gavin Newsom’s Build More, Faster — For All infrastructure agenda.
Among the biggest-ticket items is more than $8 million to San Diego Metropolitan Transit System and the San Diego Association of Governments to install electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
“These investments will help provide the next generation of transportation projects in California, strengthening efforts for bridge maintenance and renovation, increasing safety for people who walk and bike, expanding equitable access and continuing support for the movement of goods and services that fuel the state’s economic engine,” Caltrans Director Tony Tavares said Thursday.
These investments will help provide the next generation of transportation projects in California
Caltrans Director Tony Tavares
Of the $830 million, $249 million came from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, and another $306 million via Senate Bill 1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017.
Local projects include:
- $4.3 million to SANDAG for 2.1-miles of buffered bike lanes and traffic-calming and pedestrian-access features along Orange Avenue between 32nd Street and Estrella Avenue, in the City Heights neighborhood
- $3 million for pavement repairs on Interstate 5 and state Routes 56, 78 and 905 to fix damage caused by January’s storms
- $2.4 million for pump repairs at the I-5/SR-75 junction damaged by an August 2023 storm
- $375,000 for I-5 in Oceanside to remove debris and fix damages caused by that same January 2024 storm
- $8,064,000 to the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System and SANDAG to install electric-vehicle charging infrastructure for the Zero-Emission Transit Enhancement Project (electrification of the Imperial Avenue Division (IAD)) in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by implementing the supporting infrastructure for the future zero-emission fleet, including supporting the electric charging capacity and access of surrounding regional transit in San Diego County
California has received $62 billion in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law since President Biden signed it in 2021. It 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.