Caltrans has announced that the federal government has awarded California $274.5 million in extra transportation funding for meeting all of its deadlines for federally-funded projects.
“California has a reputation for maximizing its federal funding and successfully launching infrastructure projects, and these additional funds are our reward for that proven track record,” said Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty. “These funds will help Caltrans and local transportation agencies invest in transportation across the state.”
Some states do not spend all of their federal transportation funding before deadlines, causing those funds to revert to a federal pool to be redistributed to states like California that have completed all requirements and are prepared to use the additional money in a very short period of time. This year, the federal pool totaled about $3.1 billion — of which California received nearly $274.5 million, the second highest in the nation.
Caltrans received roughly $174 million of this extra funding, and local transportation agencies were granted nearly $100.5 million. The funding is prioritized for projects that meet the federal deadline of September 26, 2017.
Most of the projects that will receive the August Redistribution are already allocated by the California Transportation Commission and are underway using state dollars until federal money becomes available.
This additional funding will allow Caltrans and local communities to continue tackling California’s infrastructure maintenance backlog in tandem with new state funding from Senate Bill 1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017. Senate Bill 1 invests approximately $54 billion over the next decade to fix roads, freeways and bridges and puts more dollars toward transit and safety.
