Caltrans announced on Thursday, Aug. 17 that 32 major “fix-it-first” transportation projects can be accelerated a year earlier than planned thanks to anticipated funding from Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017. The advancement is possible due to nearly $690 million in funding authorized by the California Transportation Commission (CTC).

“The needs in California are great and we are not waiting for the funding to come in. The time to get to work is now and we are lining up the projects,” said Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty. “SB 1 is a game changing investment for transportation in California, and Caltrans is already putting that money to work across the state.”

The 32 projects are part of a list Caltrans submitted to the California Transportation Commission that was approved at the Commission’s August meeting. These projects will fix pavement on highways across the state, fix and replace deficient bridges and install traffic management systems that help manage traffic and reduce congestion.

In San Joaquin County, an $8.1 million project along Highway 5 will see replacement of a portion of the bridge deck at the Stockton Channel Viaduct. On Highway 4, pavement work is scheduled from Fresno Avenue to the Crosstown Freeway Viaduct.

Also due for a variety of improvement work around this region are portions of Highway 99 in Sacramento County, Highways 680 and 580 in Alameda County, Highway 99 in Fresno and Madera counties, Highway 4 bridge work near Angels Camp in Calaveras County and Highway 49 work in Mariposa County.

The projects authorized Aug. 17 come on the heels of more than $285 million in accelerated existing highway repair projects announced earlier in July.

SB 1 provides an ongoing funding increase of approximately $1.8 billion annually for the maintenance and rehabilitation of the state highway system, including $400 million specifically for bridges and culverts. SB 1 funds will enable Caltrans to fix more than 17,000 lane miles of pavement, 500 bridges and 55,000 culverts by 2027. Caltrans will also fix 7,700 traffic operating systems, like ramp meters, traffic cameras and electric highway message boards that help reduce highway congestion. When this work is finished, 98 percent of pavement on state facilities will be in good or fair condition, up from 85 percent today.

For complete details on SB 1, visit http://www.rebuildingca.ca.gov/.