Continuing the push to rebuild and maintain California’s infrastructure, the California Transportation Commission (CTC) has allocated nearly $593 million to 124 transportation projects that will alleviate traffic delays, repair aging roads and bridges and encourage bicycling and walking.
“These projects will help us maintain and modernize California’s transportation system,” said Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty. “Each of these projects is an opportunity to improve safety, goods movement and access and mobility for all travelers in California.”
The newly allocated funding includes $391.7 million from the State Highway Operation and Protection Program (SHOPP) for 31 projects that will maintain and preserve the investment in the state highway system and its supporting infrastructure. These capital improvements consist of projects covering maintenance, pavement repair and rehabilitation, safety improvements and upgrades to bridges throughout the state.
Allocations also include: $75 million for 12 Traffic Congestion Relief Program projects that will relieve congestion, connect transportation systems and provide for better goods movement, $42.7 million from the Active Transportation Program for 53 biking and pedestrian projects, $30.8 million for four Transit and Intercity Rail Program projects, $28 million for 22 capital improvement projects both on and off the state highway system as part of the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), with the remaining $24 million in allocations coming from various state and federal transportation accounts.
Among the regional projects that received funding allocations were:
Bike/Pedestrian Path: In Ceres (Stanislaus County), $658,000 to install eight-foot-wide, half-mile bike and pedestrian path, adjacent to Moore Road from Roeding Road to Service Road.
UC Merced Parkway: In Merced (Merced County), $5.3 million to build Campus Parkway Segment 2A, including widening along SR-140, developing connector ramps from SR-140 to parkway and constructing storm drainage system.
Sidewalks/Bike Path: In Plymouth (Amador County), $301,000 to construct sidewalks, add and improve existing crosswalks, add bike lanes and develop shared-use paths along Main Street (from Sherwood Street to Landrum Street) and on Shenandoah Road from SR-49 to Shenandoah Valley Charter School.
SB 1, passed by the state Legislature and signed by Governor Brown in April, will soon take effect and provide the first significant and stable increase in state transportation funding in more than two decades. Caltrans, along with the CTC, is committed to making investments into California’s infrastructure system efficiently and effectively, and putting those dollars to work as soon as possible.
