SACRAMENTO – Caltrans today announced its award of $26.5 million in planning grants for 65 local projects to strengthen climate resiliency, reduce planet-warming pollution, improve bicycle and pedestrian safety and increase natural disaster preparedness throughout California. Including the grants announced today, the Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant program has awarded more than $292 million to 750 projects since 2015.
Nearly $3 million of these funds comes from one-time state and federal sources made possible by Governor Gavin Newsom’s historic $15 billion clean transportation package — part of the 2022-23 budget to further the state’s ambitious climate goals. Another $12.4 million comes from Senate Bill (SB) 1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017. The awards will fund project planning and conceptual design efforts, helping move the projects closer to construction.
“These selected projects will greatly improve mobility statewide by supporting multimodal transportation and help our under-resourced communities become more climate resilient,” said Caltrans Director Dina El-Tawansy. “By supporting our local and tribal partners, California can maintain a sustainable, adaptable and resilient transportation system to help all Californians become better connected.”
Funding includes:
- $21.2 million in Sustainable Communities Competitive and Technical Grants to 51 local and regional, transit agencies and tribes for transportation and land use planning, as well as planning for electric vehicle charging infrastructure. This includes more than $10 million to fund 25 projects that improve safety and access for people who walk and bike. Ninety-four percent of these projects awarded will benefit under-resourced communities.
- $3.1 million in Climate Adaptation Planning Grants – all from Governor Newsom’s clean transportation infrastructure package – to eight local and regional agencies to identify transportation-related climate vulnerabilities through the development of climate adaptation plans, as well as project-level adaptation planning to address climate impacts to transportation infrastructure. Seventy-five percent of these projects awarded will benefit under-resourced communities.
- $2.2 million in federally funded Strategic Partnerships Grants to six projects that will plan for an equitable regional tolling program, comprehensive multimodal corridors, regional freight resilience planning, rural corridor studies to improve transportation infrastructure on or near tribal lands, transit mobility hubs and Bus Rapid Transit.
Projects impacting District 9 include:
- Kern Trans-Sierra Transit Climate Adaptation Plan – The project will develop a series of transportation plans and actionable efforts to reduce climate change impacts on Kern County transportation systems. This Climate Adaptation Planning grant in the amount of $1.05m is awarded to the Kern Council of Governments.
- Bishop Paiute Sustainable Transportation – The project will create a 2.5-year Sustainable Transportation Plan for the Bishop Paiute Tribe. It will focus on active transportation and multi-modal transportation options. This Sustainable Communities Competitive grant in the amount of $600k is awarded to the Bishop Paiute Tribe.
- Inyo County Evacuation Route Resilience Plan – The project will identify evacuation routes for Inyo County communities and develop a list of necessary infrastructure improvements over a five-year implementation period. This Climate Adaptation Planning grant in the amount of $197k is awarded to the Inyo County Local Transportation Commission (LTC).
- Town of Mammoth Lakes Climate Adaptation Plan – The project will allow Mammoth Lakes to address climate vulnerabilities, help it meet the State’s greenhouse gas reduction targets, and plan for adding resilience elements to transportation and other infrastructure. This Climate Adaptation Planning grant in the amount of $199k is awarded to the Town of Mammoth Lakes.
View the complete list of this year’s planning grant project awardees
Caltrans awards transportation planning grants each year through a competitive process to fund local and regional multimodal transportation and land use planning projects. These grants assist in achieving the Caltrans Mission and Grant Program Objectives. Applications are evaluated based on how projects advance state transportation and climate goals by identifying and addressing statewide, interregional or regional transportation deficiencies on the highway system.
SB 1 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 view the latest news and information on state and federal infrastructure investments, visit build.ca.gov.