Director's Corner

SB 1's passage puts dozens of projects ahead of schedule

Malcolm Dougherty

Malcolm Dougherty

Things are ramping up.

Thanks to the passage of SB 1, we are accelerating 48 major “fix-it-first” projects, worth more than $1.4 billion, a year earlier than planned. In August, the California Transportation Commission authorized nearly $690 million to accelerate 32 projects, in addition to the 16 projects that received funding in June. We also began construction this summer on 13 pavement projects across the state, worth almost $43 million, and expedited the design work of 50 pavement projects worth $243 million that will go into construction as early as next spring. While these projects are not funded by the bill, we are expediting them since we expect additional revenue from SB 1 beginning in November.

This means that this summer, more workers will be out on our highways, filling potholes, widening striping, or repairing aging bridges, pavement, guardrail and culverts – so safety is more important than ever. As your workload increases, please be aware of your, and your coworkers’ surroundings and always Be Work Zone Alert.

Caltrans is constantly striving to improve worker safety. Our new reflective highway worker clothing is more visible, and new safety vans being rolled out provide hydration and personal protective equipment, and automated flagger devices reduce worker traffic exposure (see the story in this edition of CT News).

Still, we lost three employees in the line of duty over the past 12 months, so please keep your eyes and ears alert as we deliver an enormous amount of projects and repairs that we have waited to deliver for the people of California.

Thank you for your diligence, and remember to make sure everyone goes home safely as we deliver for California.