Caltrans says it has hundreds of current job openings, with even more openings expected to occur over the next five years.The California Department of Transportation plans to hire 2,000 employees over the next five years due to the influx of projects that will be funded by the state’s gas tax approved last year, according to The Sacramento Bee.
The state expects to see an infusion of $54 billion during the next decade to repair and build roads and bridges and complete other transportation projects. Gov. Jerry Brown has also called on the agency to spend the money quickly so the public will notice the improvements. Caltrans’ website says it is looking for new hires statewide in heavy equipment, engineering, maintenance, information technology, accounting, legal surveys, planning, human resources and environmental, among other areas.
The site boasts competitive salaries; health, dental, vision and retirement benefits; flexible work schedules; 11 paid holidays; mentoring; and job rotation.
The new 12-cent gas tax, to be implemented incrementally over the next 10 years to fund the projects, has come under fire from a grassroots conservative group that is calling for a referendum in November to repeal the tax. The group has until May to gather more than 580,000 signatures for the initiative to make the ballot.
Efforts are also underway to defend the tax and the road funding. Caltrans is promoting projects on social media it has recently completed with the additional funding, to demonstrate its effectiveness.
The American Roads & Transportation Builders Association has released a study saying the $54 billion in funding will boost the state’s economy by $183 billion over the next 10 years.
Caltrans promotes various projects on social media being funded with the state’s new gas tax, such as the recent repaving of State Route 152, to show the public how the money is being spent. The funding comes from SB1, passed by the state legislature in April 2017, to infuse $54 billion for transportation projects over the next 10 years.
