SACRAMENTO — The California Transportation Commission (CTC) this week invested nearly $2 billion into improving the state’s transportation infrastructure while approving an additional $2.3 billion for future projects.
The nearly $2 billion allocation reflects more than $571 million in funding from the 2021 federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and more than $257 million in funding from Senate Bill (SB) 1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017. The $2.3 billion is comprised of $1.75 billion representing the third funding cycle of programs established by SB 1 and $540 million in active transportation projects sponsored by local metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), charting the course for future allocations.
“SB 1 and IIJA funding are helping rebuild and transform California’s transportation future, and we are putting that investment to work to create a system that allows all of us to travel in an equitable, safe and sustainable way,” said Caltrans Director Tony Tavares.
Projects that the CTC approved in its nearly $2 billion worth of investments include:
- Devil's Corral Safety Project (Near Susanville, from 1.2 miles west to 1.1 miles east of Willard Creek Rd. in Lassen County): Widen shoulders and install rumble strips and guardrail.
- Riverside Drive Reconstruction & Class I Ped-Bike Lane Project (Near Susanville, Riverside Drive in the unincorporated area of Lassen County): Construct Class I bike-pedestrian trail. This project includes $300K in IIJA funding.
- West C Street Rehab Project (In Alturas, West C Street from 1st St to 12th St in Modoc County): Rehabilitate existing street with spot location gut-out and replace or cold-in place recycled asphalt pavement, and overlay from 4th to 8th street. Other minor work may include some curb, gutter, and sidewalk upgrades and modification to existing storm drain facilities to improve drainage, utility adjustment/replacement work and spot upgrades to pedestrian facilities.
- Nagle Street Project (In the City of Alturas on Nagle St, from 4th St to 8th St in Modoc County): Rehabilitate pavement.
- Dunsmuir 2019 Road Rehabilitation Project (Located in Dunsmuir on Hope Lane, Apple St, and Bransletter Ave in Siskiyou County): Rehabilitate roadway including digouts, overlay, and drainage improvements.
- Jackson Ranch Road Rehab Project (Located near Weed, on Jackson Ranch Rd for the entire five mile length in Siskiyou County): Rehabilitate roadway.
- West 8th Street Rehab Project (In Alturas, on West 8th St between Warner St and West C St in Modoc County): Cold in-place recycle existing asphalt roadway, and place a thin hot mix asphalt overlay surface. Minor amounts of curb, gutter, and sidewalk to fill gaps between Warner St and the school, and provide storm drain and pedestrian accessibility upgrades at spot locations.
- Court Street Phase I Project (In the City of Alturas from 1st St to 4th in Modoc County): Rehabilitate and or reconstruct the existing structural section with full gut-out/replacement and cold in-place recycling existing pavement. Ancillary work for spot locations include curb, gutter, and sidewalk upgrades, modifications to existing storm drains facilities, utility cover adjustment/replacement work.
- Hazen & Sly Street Rehab Project (Located in Dorris on Hazen and Sly Steets, from Oregon St to Main St in Siskiyou County): Rehabilitate roadway.
- Lake Street Rehabilitation Project (In Weed, on Lake St from Main St to Boles in Siskiyou County): Pulverize roadway surface and portion of base, recompact, and apply three inches of new HMA.
- BUTTE/Plumas 70 Corridor Slides Project (The project limits are within the Dixie Fire burn scar area with steep terrain in Plumas and Butte Counties): This project will remove slide material from slope and traveled way and monitor the corridor for additional rock fall and mud slides. This supplemental is needed because recent storm events from Jan through Mar 2023 have continued to cause damage and initiate new slides in this area, blocking the road in multiple locations. Material is stockpiled and needs to be removed, erosion is occurring from flooding, and drainage systems need to be repaired, pavement, guardrail, and striping needs to be replaced, and boulders need to be broken down to manageable size to haul out to a disposal area.
- Plumas 70 PM 81.82 Project (Near Beckwourth, at 1.5 miles east of Beckwourth Calpine Rd in Plumas County): On Feb 23, 2023 a sinkhole was discovered in the eastbound lane. This project will provide a temporary repair to keep the route open until the water level subsides, fill the sinkhole void, install a new culvert, and restore roadway surface.
- Shasta and Tehama Marker Replacement Project (In Shasta and Tehama Counties at various locations): This project will prepare pavement, grind for recessed markers, and install new pavement makers that were plowed off during the February 2023 low elevation snow storm event.
- Trinity 299 PM 6.37 Project (In Trinity County near Hawkins Bar, at 0.5 mile west of Hansen Rd): This project will install a steel mesh drapery to control future rockfall events.
- Happy Camp Complete Streets Project (In Siskiyou County at and near Happy Camp from 1st Ave to 0.1 mile east of Mill Road): This project will construct a Class II bike lane, install new and improve existing sidewalks, install rapid flashing beacons, and install pedestrian lighting. This project includes $1.1M in SB1 funding.
- Turtle Bay to Downtown Gap Completion Project (Located in the City of Redding, on Sundial Bridge Drive above and north of State Route 44, throughout Turtle Bay Park, and connecting to the Sacramento River Trail in Shasta County): Buffered two-way cycle track; shared use path; raised intersection with curb extensions, bollards, lane reductions; raised crosswalks with bike/pedestrian separations, and shade trees.
The $1.75 billion for future investments cover three SB 1 competitive grant programs: $1.08 billion for the Trade Corridor Enhancement Program (TCEP); $532.8 million for the Solutions for Congested Corridors Program (SCCP); and $142.5 million for the Local Partnership Program (LPP). The programs included, for the first time, input from the new Interagency Equity Advisory Committee in the evaluation of projects. This funding round also marks the first cycle to incorporate all principles of the state’s Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure.
The TCEP funding will go to 26 projects that support infrastructure improvements on corridors that carry a high volume of freight traffic with the goal of increasing efficiency, improving safety, and constructing an equitable and sustainable freight system. More than a third (10 of 26) of the TCEP projects include zero-emission technology components to support the deployment of a zero-emission freight transportation system and invest in light, medium and heavy zero-emission vehicle infrastructure. The SCCP funding will go to 10 projects to achieve a balanced set of transportation, environmental, and community access improvements to reduce congestion throughout the state. All 10 SCCP projects are multimodal, and five include active transportation improvements. The LPP funding will go to 11 projects that support counties, cities, districts, and regional transportation agencies where voters have approved fees or taxes dedicated solely to transportation.
Local TCEP projects include:
- $70M to fund the Fix 5 Cascade Gateway Project (Located in the City of Redding and Shasta County): Restore and improve a large section of Interstate 5 to allow more room to merge at the on- and off-ramps while helping reduce merging conflicts at multiple state routes that intersect in this area.
The CTC also adopted the 2023 MPO Active Transportation Program, totaling $540 million for future investments. The 134 projects approved for funding include a broad range of active transportation infrastructure improvements, including more than 120 miles of new bikeways, 60 miles of new sidewalks, and many other improvements to intersections, crosswalks, shade and signage. More than 90 percent of the funding, $494 million, will fund projects benefitting disadvantaged communities, and $290 million (54 percent) will fund Safe Routes to School projects.
The IIJA, also known as the “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” is a once-in-a-generation investment in our nation's infrastructure to improve the sustainability and resiliency of our energy, water, broadband and transportation systems. Since November 2021, California has received more than $20 billion in federal infrastructure funding. That includes more than $15.1 billion in federal transportation funding to upgrade the state’s roads, bridges, rail, public transit, airports, electric vehicle charging network, ports, and waterways. These transportation investments alone have already created nearly 48,000 jobs
The influx of federal funding is on top of California’s multiyear infrastructure investments in transit and intercity rail projects, safe walking and biking options, and upgrades to the state’s economy-powering supply chain, in addition to SB 1, which provides $5 billion in transportation funding annually that is shared equally between state and local agencies. Road projects progress through construction phases more quickly based on the availability of SB 1 funds, including projects that are partially funded by SB 1.
To review the latest news and information on state and federal infrastructure investments, visit RebuildingCA.ca.gov, which contains data on the increased funding. Website visitors can learn more about the different state and federal infrastructure programs, track the amount of funding California is receiving, and find projects on an updated interactive map.