The California Transportation Commission recently allocated nearly $1.7 billion to help improve safety, increase mobility for all users and strengthen the state highway system, reports the California Department of Transportation. Guided by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s “Build More, Faster — For All” infrastructure agenda, these improvements will make California communities safer and more climate resilient, said Caltrans.
“Investments made today support Caltrans’ mission to build and maintain a transportation system that helps Californians now and decades into the future,” said Mike Keever, acting director for Caltrans. “This funding translates into safer travel, more accessible mobility options and strengthening our roadways to protect all travelers during extreme weather events.”
Projects approved in District 2 include:
- Greenville Wye Transportation Management System Improvements Project in Plumas County near Paxton, at the north junction of State Route 89 Greenville Wye. This project will upgrade TMS elements such as highway advisory radio, emergency message signs and closed-circuit televisions.
- SR 70 Slides Director’s Order Project in Plumas County near Pulga, from the Butte county line to Route 89; also in Butte County from just west of Deadwood Road to the Plumas county line. This project will clear and haul away slide material, and repair pavement and guardrail. On Feb. 6, another slide occurred within the project limits. A supplemental allocation is needed to remove rocks, perform slope scaling and repair guardrail at this new slide location. This project includes $560,000 in Senate Bill 1 funding.
- D2 Park Fire Director’s Order Project in Plumas, Shasta and Tehama counties at various locations. The purpose of this project is to provide traffic control, remove hazard trees, replace culverts, place erosion control and replace damaged guardrail and signs. After the Park Fire was contained, damage assessments were updated. A supplemental allocation is needed as the amount of hazard trees that need to be removed went up from 680 to 6,000. Drainage quantities have also gone up. In addition, the water board has mandated that the erosion control measures be placed within all rights of way spanning 30 miles of burnt area in both directions. A second supplemental allocation is needed to remove sediment from culverts, repair ditches and rebuild damaged side slopes due to the damage caused by recent storms in December 2024 and January 2025. This project includes $1.2 million in SB1 funding.
Of the total allocation this month, nearly $651 million came via SB 1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, and approximately $536 million from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021.
IIJA, also known as the federal bipartisan infrastructure bill, is referred to as a once-in-a-generation investment in the nation’s infrastructure to improve the sustainability and resiliency of the country’s energy, water, broadband and transportation systems. California has received nearly $62 billion in federal infrastructure funding since its passage. This includes investments to upgrade the state’s roads, bridges, rail, public transit, airports, ports and waterways. The funding alone has already created more than 170,000 jobs in California.
Meanwhile, SB 1 invests approximately $5 billion annually toward transportation projects. It provides funding split between the state and local agencies. Road projects progress through construction phases more quickly based on the availability of funds, including projects that are partially funded by SB 1.
More information is available at build.ca.gov.
