New Federal Infrastructure Grants Awarded: Many in California

The US Department of Transportation announced the awarding of infrastructure grants in a range of programs, and California will receive about $260 million for 26 different projects.

The grants come from several programs funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and may be some of the last money California sees from the federal government for a while. The programs include the federal Active Transportation Infrastructure Program (ATIP), the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Grant Program, the Reconnecting Communities Pilot (RCP) Grant Program, and the Rural Surface Transportation Grant (Rural) Program.

They are a bit of a mixed bag. A few of them, highlighted below, include some good projects for people (bike and multi-use paths, transit stop improvements, and the like). There are also several that include grade separation safety projects at railroad crossings. But many of these still focus on widening roads, and at least one of the grade separation projects will create a new six-lane road. Some projects say they include unspecified “multimodal facilities,” but their ultimate impact will be the same (more and faster driving).

The ATIP, which will give grants to fourteen projects nationwide, has one award for California: $1.4 million to the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians to plan and design the Santa Ynez Valley Active Transportation Regional Connector. This will be an 8.7-mile “active transportation spine” that one can assume will include bike lanes, although details are yet to be determined. The purpose, according to the award announcement, is to “adapt the region to expanding bike-tourism and provide residents with safe access to schools, grocery stores, medical facilities, transit, and other vital destinations.”

The other program’s projects are more mixed, including the one mentioned above in the city of Tracy that will create a massive highway interchange, with a Class I (off-street, multi-use) path thrown in.

One of the more compelling projects is in the city of Goleta, which will receive $11.16 million from the RCP to build a separated and dedicated multipurpose underpass through US 101, the UPRR tracks, and State Route 217. The project will create a new Class I bicycle path and pedestrian amenities and create a new connection for the surrounding street network.

Others include:

• Funding for the Bay Area Rapid Transit District from the RAISE program to (finally) replace the existing train control system.
• A RAISE grant for work on the multi-use trail being planned along the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line.
• Funding from RAISE to help the City of Hanford plan and design – and do public outreach for – corridor improvements in downtown Hanford, including traffic calming, roadway and intersection safety improvements, ADA upgrades, improved bus stops, wayfinding, and more.
• A new light rail station for SacRT in Dos Rios.
• Traffic calming, lane reductions, and new bike and pedestrian connections in Richmond.
• A new bus yard for SF Muni in Potrero.
• Money for Santa Monica to study “cap parks” along the I-10 freeway.
• A “comprehensive community-generated connectivity plan” to remove barriers between Oakland Chinatown and the waterfront (via underpasses, not freeway removals).
• Studying ways to reconnecting the Canal neighborhood with the rest of the city of San Rafael via “best-in-class shared use pedestrian and bicycle paths” over (under?) the freeway.
• Developing a plan to create protected bike lanes, pedestrian improvements, and mobility hubs along the Crenshaw corridor in Los Angeles.
• Studying ways to turn San Francisco’s sand-strewn Great Highway into a park.

A full list of the grants can be found here.