SACRAMENTO – Public transit projects across California are receiving bond funds to upgrade transit service, purchase eco-friendly buses, and modernize transit stations to create jobs across the state, according to an Oct. 31 press statement from Caltrans. The 138 projects will receive $214 million from Proposition 1B, the 2006 voter-approved transportation bond, which includes $3.6 billion to improve public transit in California.
“These projects are a direct investment in our state’s public transit system and will help energize California’s economy,” Acting Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty said in a written statement. “Not only will these projects help create jobs, they will also reduce traffic congestion, protect the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and provide Californians an alternative to rising gas prices.”
According to Caltrans, some of the notable projects receiving funding include the following:
Los Angeles
- $29.5 million to the San Fernando Valley Extension North/South Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) to build a four-mile expansion on the existing Orange BRT Line.
- $61.6 million to the Mid-City/Exposition Light Rail Project, an 8.5 mile corridor project, which will be the first to connect downtown Los Angeles with the Westside and Culver City.
San Francisco
- $20.2 million to the Central Subway, a north-south rail/transit axis connecting to the BART/Muni Metro subway.
Fresno
- $720,000 to the city of Clovis to purchase seven clean-diesel buses.
Monterey
- $1.3 million to extend the Fremont/Lighthouse Corridor Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) route seven miles from the Monterey-Pacific Grove border to the western edge of Sand City.
San Diego
- $15.7 million to purchase 29 new light rail vehicles, which will increase rider capacity and improve transit service throughout San Diego.
Kern County
- $2.2 million to replace older buses that emit more air pollutants, with five cleaner Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses.
Riverside
- $5.6 million to purchase 70 buses to replace ones that have reached the end of their useful life.
Orange County
- $18.7 million for the Metrolink Service Grade Crossing Improvements and Track Expansion Improvement Project which will open up track capacity and improve safety for services in both directions between Fullerton and Laguna Niguel/ Mission Viejo train stations.
Click here a comprehensive list of all projects that received funding.
