California doles out $3.8B for transportation improvements

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Dive Brief:

• The California Transportation Commission allocated $3.8 billion in funding for bridge, highway, rail and freight corridor improvements, according to an Oct. 21 news release. 
• Of the total, about $3.5 billion will flow from the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, with another $330 million coming from California’s Senate Bill 1, passed in 2017 to repair roads and other transportation infrastructure throughout the state. It provides approximately $5 billion in funding annually from a state gas tax. 
• Approximately 600 local governments and regional transportation authorities will receive money from the allocation, according to CTC. California has reaped more than $46 billion in federal infrastructure funding since IIJA’s passage in November 2021.

Dive Insight:

Specific funding highlighted in the release includes:

• $9.4 million for upgrading facilities along State Route 49 in Calaveras County to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Funding will build new sidewalks, curb ramps and Class II bike lanes in the community of Angels Camp.
• $4.2 million to help the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission / San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority acquire right of way for construction of the new Valley Rail Madera Station. The project will improve integration and connectivity with the state’s high-speed rail system.  
• $556,000 for improvements to pedestrian facilities in the neighborhood of Harrison Elementary School in San Joaquin County, including a Class II bike lane, construction of new sidewalks, a curb ramp, intersection lighting and a traffic signal. 
• $185,000 for the Tuolumne County Transportation Council to construct the Hetch Hetchy Railroad Trail Project in Groveland.

Other projects receiving an infusion include the Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo rail corridor, four hydrogen fueling stations along Interstate 215 near Riverside, a freeway-to-freeway connector between State Routes 99 and 58 in Bakersfield and a bicycle/pedestrian overcrossing in Berkeley.

“These projects will create safer and more equitable and climate-resilient transportation options for all Californians,” Caltrans Director Tony Tavares said in the release. “Investments made possible since IIJA was enacted are establishing a legacy that will benefit all people who use and rely on our vast transportation system for employment and educational opportunities, access to goods and services, and connection to recreational attractions.”