California to Get Millions in Federal Transportation Funds

California is set to receive more than $72 million in federal funds for projects as part of $1.5 billion in grants announced by U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao on Tuesday.

The grants are made through the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development Transportation Grants program and support road, rail, transit and port infrastructure projects across the country.

Project applications were evaluated on criteria including safety, economic competitiveness, quality of life, environmental protection and state of good repair. Further criteria included innovation, such as projects supporting autonomous vehicle infrastructure.

California projects include:

Better Market Street Phase I, $15 million. The project will construct roadway improvements on Market Street between 6^th  and 8^th streets in downtown San Francisco. Improvements include roadway resurfacing, streetcar track replacement, replacement and upgrade of traffic signals, and a new F-line streetcar turnaround loop at McAllister Street and Charles J. Brenham Place.

North County Corridor Project, $20 million. The project will construct a 3-mile segment of the State Route 108 in the Central Valley. The segment will be a six lane, controlled access expressway that will move SR-108 to the south of the town of Riverbank as the first phase of an 18-mile expressway that will bypass the communities of Modesto, Riverbank and Oakdale.

Calexico East Port of Entry Bridge Expansion, $20 million. The project will widen the Calexico East Port of Entry bridge along the US-Mexico border to accommodate two additional northbound commercial truck lanes and two additional northbound passenger vehicle lanes. The project also includes improvements to the bicycle and pedestrian facilities at the border crossing.

State Route 46 Widening Segment 4B, $17.5 million. The project will widen an approximately 5.3-mile segment of Route 46 from two to four lanes in each direction in Kern County. The project also includes the addition of an 18-meter median, upgrading seven intersections, bringing the road into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, adding approximately one mile of bicycle lanes and sidewalks, and building one new bridge.