State Funds Two Mother Lode Transportation Projects

Sonora, CA — A total of $32 million in grants was handed out with two road projects involving highways in Calaveras County receiving nearly $400,000.

During this week’s California Transportation Commission meeting, the first planning grants funded through the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2014 (SB 1) were awarded to local agencies to support their efforts to plan 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 to improve transportation in local communities and plan for a future impacted by climate change,” explains Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty. “In addition to the many projects already accelerated thanks to SB 1, this is just one more example of how we’re committed to rebuilding California.”

Below Caltrans provides the details regarding the Calaveras projects that received funding:

Valley Springs Complete Streets Capital Infrastructure Plan & Project Prioritization:

• The Plan provides the community level planning needed to develop conceptual complete streets transportation improvements that build upon operational investments on State Route 26 (SR-26) and the SR-12/26 intersection, incorporates community aesthetic, and provides safe travel options for residents and students to schools and community centers. The project is a collaborative partnership of the School, Caltrans, CHP, and Calaveras Council of Governments, Calaveras County, and community.

Angels Camp Main Street/SR-49 Complete Streets & Copello Road Pedestrian Connector:

• The Project provides the community level planning framework needed to identify complete streets improvements on the North Main Street/SR-49 corridor and Copello Road in Angels Camp. The project study area will be from Copello Road/SR-49 to the SR-49/SR-4 intersection. The project will identify and address critical gaps in multimodal connectivity between existing and planned facilities along SR-49 and SR-4 and provide multimodal access to low-income communities in northern Angels Camp.

Nearly $25 million of the sustainable community grants went to 43 local and regional multimodal transportation and land use planning projects that will assist in achieving the state’s greenhouse gas reductions targets of 40 and 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and 2050 respectively. In total, SB 1 will provide more than $270 million in planning grants for local communities over the next decade, according to Caltrans.

Of note, as reported here, last month Caltrans completed the installation of a four-way stoplight on Highway 26 at the Vista Del Lago Drive in Valley Springs, which costs $2.8 million.