Bay Area scores transportation stimulus cash

Monday, May 4, 2009, 2:33pm PDT
Bay Area scores transportation stimulus cash
San Francisco Business Times - by Eric Young

California has committed more than $234 million to transportation projects around the Bay Area, the first wave of stimulus act cash coming to the region for infrastructure work.

The money will go toward a range of local projects, most of which are designed to renovate existing thoroughfares. But the largest chunk of money — more than $192 million — will go toward boring the fourth passageway in the Caldecott Tunnel, which connects Alameda and Contra Costa counties along Highway 24.

The money coming to the nine-county Bay Area is part of more than $1 billion in stimulus cash that has been marked for 80 transportation infrastructure projects around the state.

California worked quickly to distribute money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Monday. The federal government gave states 120 days to decide how to spend the first half of their transportation funding, but California has allocated its funding in less than 60 days, the Republican governor said.

California expects to receive nearly $2.6 billion from the federal stimulus package to fix highways and streets and another $1 billion for transit projects. State officials said they expect to get a “major share” of $8 billion set aside nationally for high-speed and intercity passenger rail.

California plans to build a bullet-train system that would link the Bay Area to southern California. The state has almost $10 billion in money approved by voters last year and a designated route.

A complete list of projects getting initial transportation funding can be found here.

eyoung@bizjournals.com / (415) 288-4969