The California Transporation Commission has approved $3 billion in funding for projects that improve highways, multimodal travel options and pedestrian pathways across the state.
Funding sources include $663 million from the state’s Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017 and approximately $2 billion from a $54 billion allocation to California from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA).
The projects’ goals are enhancing the capacity of the state’s transportation system and rehabilitating aging roadways to improve travel times while balancing community impacts and promoting environmental benefits, according to California Department of Transportation officials.
Projects receiving funding include:
- $132 million on Interstate 5 in Irvine between I-405 and Yale Avenue to rehabilitate pavement and drainage systems and improve highway worker safety.
- $129 million to the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) for the Otay Mesa East Port of Entry Construction – Underground Utilities and Grading Work Package. Work on the project includes fine grading, installation of site perimeter security fence, installation of wet and dry utility pipe and conduits, and procurement of long lead items that include border fence, high mast site lighting and inspection booths.
- $102 million to improve segments of I-5 in Kern County. Work will include pavement repair, upgrades to drainage and lighting, installation of CCTV cameras, vehicle detection systems and changeable message signs to improve traffic monitoring and incident response.
- $69.8 million for seismic retrofit and partial bridge replacement of the Eel River Bridge on U.S.101 in Rio Dell.
- $60 million for construction of retaining walls along with roadway, guardrail, drainage and other improvements at two locations on Route 197 from Kaspar/Keene Road to Ruby Van Deventer County Park and on U.S.199 at various locations from south of Lado Del Rio Drive to north of Siskiyou Fork Road near Crescent City.
- $37.1 million on SR-84 near Sunol, at Arroyo De La Laguna Bridge, to rehabilitate the bridge by installing pavement delineation, markings, and signs to alert motorists of wrong-way driving at exit ramps. The goal of the project is to reduce the number and severity of collisions.
- $21 million for preservation of a bridge in Monterey County using an innovative electrochemical technique to remove corrosives from concrete, extending the structure’s service life.
- $12 million for construction of a bicycle and pedestrian overcrossing of U.S. Highway 101 in Santa Rosa to serve students at Santa Rosa Junior College and Santa Rosa High School and nearby commercial destinations.
- $3 million for new sidewalks, landscaping and bike lanes along H Street in the city of Bakersfield, improving walking and bicycling access and neighborhood connectivity.
Photo by Johannes Plenio from Pexels
