Caltrans has announced the next round of local transportation planning grants, totaling $41 million, have been awarded. Local agencies will put this money to use for planning efforts and projects that support more sustainable communities, reduce transportation-related greenhouse gases and adapt for the effects of climate change.
“These grants will provide much needed funding to support the efforts by local and regional agencies to improve transportation in their communities,” said Caltrans Director Laurie Berman. “Planning is a crucial first step in creating projects that can ultimately lead to more long-lasting transportation improvements throughout the state.”
Among the grants awarded were nearly $31 million in Sustainable Communities grants, including $18.5 million for 64 local and regional multimodal transportation and land use planning projects and $12.5 million for Metropolitan Planning Organizations that represent urbanized areas of the State. These planning grants will provide funding to support regional sustainable community strategies and ultimately achieve the state’s greenhouse gas reductions targets of 40 and 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and 2050 respectively. The Road Repair and Accountability Act (SB 1) provides $25 million annually to this grant program which is awarded both competitively and by formula to eligible projects. The remaining $6 million in Sustainable Communities grants consists of a combination of State and Federal funds.
Among projects awarded funding are:
Altamont Rail Connection Feasibility Study, $750,000: The Tri-Valley San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority will conduct a study to develop the basis for investments necessary to establish rail connectivity between BART and ACE, providing direct service connections and serving mega-regional and State goals for inter-connectivity.
Sustainable Communities and Climate Resilience for People with Disabilities, $406,000: This Metropolitan Transportation Commission project will develop new strategies to address the specialized needs of the disability community. To achieve this goal, the project will deliver an action plan that includes recommendations for multiple regional plans, funding programs and data collection efforts, including the regional transportation plan, the Lifeline Transportation Plan and the household travel and transit intercept surveys. The project will also create a resource book for people with disabilities.
A complete list of the 65 Sustainable Communities grant projects can be found at: http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/tpp/grant_files/FY_18-19/2.FY18-19_SC_AwardList.pdf.
Additionally, $7 million in Adaptation Planning grants were awarded to 22 projects throughout California. These grants will help local and regional agencies conduct adaptation planning in a way to ensure transportation assets are resilient in the face of climate change and extreme weather events. SB 1 will provide a total of $20 million over three years for this grant program.
Among projects awarded funding are:
Amador and Calaveras County Extreme Weather and Natural Disaster Needs Assessment, $150,466: This project will develop a study to assess the impacts of extreme weather events caused by climate change (wildfires, droughts, flooding, mudslides and tree mortality) on roadways and other related infrastructure, including the development of best practices for preventing major damage, determining costs to the region and how to identify funding sources to fund needed improvements. Additionally, the plan would develop Emergency Preparedness procedures, such as a roadway evacuation network.
A complete list of the projects receiving Adaptation Planning grants can be found at: http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/tpp/grant_files/FY_18-19/7.FY18-19_AP_AwardList.pdf.
Twelve projects also were awarded a total of $3.1 million in federally-funded Strategic Partnership Grants. These grants are intended to encourage regional agencies to partner with Caltrans to identify and address statewide/interregional transportation deficiencies in the state highway system; strengthen government-to-government relationships; and ultimately result in system improvements. New for this year was a transit component that will fund planning projects that address multimodal transportation deficiencies with a focus on transit.
Among projects awarded funding are:
Infrastructure for Prosperity in the Central Valley’s Industrial Triangle, $239,040: This planning project intends to respond to the region’s growth by bringing multiple jurisdictions together to determine the local and regional impacts of economic developments on the current transportation system in the industrial triangle. Based on anticipated travel needs, strategies will be identified to: 1) mitigate the impact of the growing industrial center on SR-99, SR-41 and regional roadways, and 2) establish a connected and coordinated transportation system to move people and goods efficiently along these roadways. The final plan will include implementation measures, prioritize recommendations for investment in the area, provide cost-benefit analyses for priority investments and identify potential funding sources for priority infrastructure.
A complete list of projects receiving Strategic Partnership grants can be found at: http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/tpp/grant_files/FY_18-19/4.FY18-19_SPandSPT_AwardList.pdf.
