California’s roadways and transportation infrastructure are set for upgrades as the state government puts its foot on the funding gas peddle. In August, the California Transportation Commission (CTC) allocated more than $1.8 billion to finance vital transit projects throughout the Golden State.
These major investments include nearly $458 million from Senate Bill (SB) 1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act (RRAA) of 2017, and more than $1 billion in funding from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also know as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Photo Courtesy California Transportation Commission
“Thanks to the California Transportation Commission’s ongoing investment in new and improved infrastructure, Caltrans continues to build a better and safer transportation network that serves all Californians,” Tony Tavares, California Department of Transporation (Caltrans) director, said in a news release. “These funds will help us enhance the state’s system of highways, rest areas, bikeways, and pedestrian routes.”
This new funding builds on “a historic push to improve the state’s vital transportation infrastructure,” with nearly $1.2 billion earmarked by CTC in January and nearly $2 billion in May. The January money also included almost $428 million from IIJA and $168 million via the RRAA, and the May financing nearly $430 million from IIJA and $740 million from the RRAA.
Photo Courtesy CaltransHQ
All the funding announcements feature several projects across the state’s 12 districts. The money will go to improve everything from water and wastewater systems at rest stops to upgraded bike lanes and highways to synch with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) throughout the third-largest state in the country.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the ADA “prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in several areas, including employment, transportation, public accommodations, communications, and access to state and local government programs and services.”
In August, the CTC approved $43 million to reconstruct and upgrade the systems for the eastbound and westbound Cactus City Safety Roadside Rest Areas along Interstate 10 near Indio. Around $29 million will also go to improve on-ramps and off-ramps near Fairfield, and a $41 million project near Pismo Beach will include new bike lanes and bikeway designations from the funding.
Photo Courtesy ADA
The May announcement included efforts prioritizing the most populous state’s bridge network. The Interstate 405 — also known as “the San Diego Freeway” — improvement project in Los Angeles County will get $27.6 million. More than $4 million is marked to repair bridge damage along Interstate 80 in Alameda County, and $600,000 will go to replace the Ackerman Creek Bridge in Mendocino County.
The January CTC funding included $245 million for several initiatives, including:
- Full trash capture devices
- Shoreline embankment restoration
- Enhancements to bus, bicycle, and pedestrian infrastructure
- Railroad overcrossings
- Improvement to better align with the ADA throughout the state highway system
Trash capture devices consist of different technologies — like mesh screens or curb inlet covers — placed in waterways to filter out large and small pollutants.
Photo Courtesy EPA
Since 2021, California has received almost $33 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The funding has included more than $24 billion for transportation-related efforts.“California is continuing to upgrade our transportation infrastructure,” Tavares said in a January news release. “These investments will help us increase the safe, equitable, and sustainable transportation access that all Californians deserve.”
