California Transportation Commission Dedicates $1.4 Billion for Infrastructure
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The California Transportation Commission recently allocated $1.4 billion for transportation infrastructure projects, including efforts to improve freight movement.
The 13-member commission is responsible for programming and directing transportation funds for highway, rail, transit and active transportation purposes.
More than half of the funding, some $884 million, came from Senate Bill 1, also known as the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017. This legislation, which involved a hike to fuel tax rates, is intended to direct $54 billion over a decade to fixing roads, highways and bridges, as well as supporting transit and safety.
According to the commission, SB 1 annually provides $5 billion in transportation funding, divided between state and local agencies.
“California continues to make significant investments in fixing our roads, highways, bridges and transit systems,” said California Department of Transportation Director Toks Omishakin. “SB 1 is critical to making these repairs and upgrades, while also supporting thousands of jobs that are essential for our economy.”
Omishakin
In Chino, $11.8 million was allocated to lower the profile of state Route 60 where Ramona Avenue crosses over the corridor. The goal of the project is to remove vertical clearance constraints in order to improve freight movement along the route. Chino is about 35 miles east of Los Angeles.
Some $6.2 million was set aside for a project that will upgrade Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Facilities in Thousand Oaks and Camarillo, which are located northwest of Los Angeles in Ventura County. According to Caltrans, these facilities are where members of the California Highway Patrol inspect the weight of trucks. Work will involve replacing concrete slabs, upgrading facilities in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and repairing and replacing asphalt.
The Pajaro River Bridge rehabilitation project in Santa Cruz County was allocated $285,000. Santa Cruz County lies about 70 miles south of San Francisco. The project involves rehabilitating the structure, which is used for freight rail service and is composed of 23 spans. According to the commission, rehabilitating the structure will result in continued freight service for 25 years, boosted capacity to accommodate an expected increase in goods movement and a reduction in truck traffic on highways and local streets.
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An allocation of $8 million will support the addition of a fourth railroad track at the East Basin of the Port of Long Beach. This site lies directly west of the Los Angeles River and Interstate 710, a major truck route.
The Port of Long Beach handles 78.5 million metric tons of cargo annually. Top imports include crude oil, electronics and plastics. Top exports are chemicals, waste paper and petroleum coke. Petroleum coke is produced during the oil refining process and used in aluminum manufacturing, steel, glass, paint and fertilizers, according to the American Petroleum Institute.
Caltrans said this project would reduce local truck drayage by 54,800 vehicle hours traveled and divert 7.37 million local port-related truck trips to rail.
Some $98.4 million was set aside to replace a bridge near Butte City that carries SR 162 across the Sacramento River as well as the associated viaduct approach in order to meet current standards. Butte City is located 84 miles north of Sacramento.
In Sacramento and Elk Grove, some $12.1 million will be used to install 14 miles of fiber optic cable to improve communications for the Regional Transportation Management Center. Elk Grove is 15 miles southeast of downtown Sacramento.
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