The California Transportation Commission recently approved more than $2 billion in funding for a range of transportation projects. Of those,100 are funded entirely or at least partly by $690 million from Senate Bill 1, or SB 1, also known as the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, with $1.3 billion approved for nearly 150 other transportation projects that require additional maintenance, improvements and construction.
Meanwhile, the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program — which funds projects to modernize transit systems, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve safety — garnered more than $122 million in SB 1 dollars for 11 rail and transit projects.
“These projects are a just a small portion of the key improvements we need to maintain California's critical transportation infrastructure. Throughout the state, projects like these are being completed through SB 1 investments,” said Laurie Berman, director of Caltrans, in a statement.
The agency noted that most of the projects receiving funding allocations are part of the State Highway Operations and Protection Program, or SHOPP, which is the state highway system's “fix-it-first” program that funds safety improvements, emergency repairs, highway preservation and some operational highway improvements.
While funding for this program is a mixture of federal and state funds, a significant portion comes from the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account created by SB 1, Caltrans said.
The agency added that it plans to focus on repairing and rehabilitating the state highway system by improving pavement, bridges, culverts and intelligent transportation systems, which are included in the performance requirements of SB 1, along with other projects that include Solutions for Congested Corridor, Trade Corridor Enhancement and Local Partnership programs.
Those programs tackle congestion, support valuable trade corridors and bolster local agency efforts to invest in transportation, the agency said.
