January 7, 2006
Governor's aides unfold map
for highway overhaul
By Tony Bizjak
A decade from now, if the governor has his way, carpool lanes will line every Sacramento freeway. Truckers in Los Angeles will drive on their own toll roads - no cars allowed - built in part by their companies. Driving the now infamously ancient Highway 99 will be smooth sailing, no longer burdened by crisscrossing traffic from uncontrolled side roads. It's the future-world Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was envisioning on Thursday in his "I say build it!" State of the State speech.
After two years of quietly gearing up, California's governor is proposing a $107 billion overhaul of the state's crumbling transportation systems. Some $12 billion of the money would come from bond measures Schwarzenegger hopes to put before the voters - the first in June.
"If we add 1,200 miles of new highway and HOV lanes and add 600 miles of mass transit, we can actually reduce traffic delays in the next 10 years," the governor said. Several legislative leaders have introduced competing infrastructure bond programs, promising a Capitol struggle this spring.
Transportation planners around the state Friday offered mixed reactions to the proposals. Many said they were pleased with what looks to be the most aggressive move by Sacramento leaders in years to shore up the state's
transportation system.
Some, however, said they want to know more about where most of the money is coming from, and how much input they will have about what projects are built in the coming years. Randy Rentschler of the Bay Area's Metropolitan Transportation Commission said he is setting his concerns aside for the moment.
"I am more liking the big picture," he said. "All the big players in the administration and Legislature have basically the same agenda, a big improvement for transportation. For us in the transportation world, this is a good place to be."
Administration officials spent Friday offering more details of the governor's transportation proposal and assuring local officials he does not intend to dictate what will be built. On Thursday, the administration released a region-by-region list of transportation improvements described as a "preliminary working list of proposed transportation projects."
The list surprised many local officials. Responding to concerns, Business, Transportation & Housing Agency Secretary Sunne McPeak said the list is as billed: preliminary. If the governor's bond measure passes, she said, the administration would partner with transportation agencies on which projects to nominate for money. However, McPeak said the list does show the types of programs the administration wants built.
The focus, McPeak and Caltrans director Will Kempton said, is on projects that reduce highway congestion and help speed the movement of goods. The administration also said it hopes to partner with the private sector to build exclusive roads for commercial vehicles, especially to and from shipping ports in Southern California.
The governor's project list includes numerous freeway carpool lanes and allocates $275 million in Sacramento for carpool lanes on Highway 50 and Interstates 80 and 5. McPeak said carpool lanes could be switched at some point to combination carpool and toll lanes, also known as high occupancy toll lanes. They could be used by single-occupant vehicles for a fee.
Sacramento transportation planner Pete Hathaway said the projects earmarked for Sacramento, including improvements on Highway 99 north of the I-5 split near the airport, are on local officials' to-do list but not fully funded yet.
"They seem to have carefully chosen to provide the money not already known to be available," he said.
Administration officials said Friday the $107 billion in transportation money they propose for the next 10 years would come from a variety of places, including existing transportation funds, budget savings and private investment.
Some of the money being counted in the $107 billion, in fact, comes from existing local sales tax revenue, such as Sacramento County's Measure A money, that is slated by local officials to be spent locally on improvements to state highways.
Schwarzenegger's plan includes following through on his promise from last year for a constitutional amendment to ensure that Proposition 42 gas money is spent only on transportation. Some found the governor's proposal disappointing. Transit officials lamented the focus on highways, and smaller counties found little for them. The only money earmarked for Placer and El Dorado counties was $7 million and $9 million respectively for park-and-ride lots.
"Honestly, I am not sure that is the highest priority for Placer County," said Celia McAdam, executive for the Placer County Transportation Planning Agency.
Urban areas fared better. The Golden Gate Bridge would get an improved access road at Doyle Drive, and the East Bay's Caldecott Tunnel would get a fourth bore. Some $300 million was earmarked to upgrade the I-80/I-680 interchange in Solano County. Among projects in Southern California, the governor proposed $360 million in improvements for the Pacific Surfliner commuter rail service in Los Angeles and San Diego counties. Central Valley leaders counted themselves as big winners. The governor's proposal would give them several billion dollars to modernize Highway 99. Carol Whiteside of the Great Valley Center in Modesto said officials there lobbied the administration successfully.
"The governor was incredulous that there still are at-grade street crossings where people have to fit in between trucks and cars going 70 miles per hour," Whiteside said. "There are places where 99 looks like a country road."
TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS Included in the $222.6 billion in construction projects Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed in his State of the State speech Thursday is $107 billion for transportation. The governor's "preliminary working list of proposed projects" encompasses many that have been on state plans but received no funds or minimal funds. The governor's list includes these in the Sacramento region:
* High-occupancy vehicle lanes on Highway 50 and Interstates 5 and 80 in Sacramento County, $275 million.
* Highway 99 interchange at Elverta Road, $15 million.
* Highway 50 from I-5 to El Dorado County line, corridor management program, including studies, ramp metering and other strategies, $20 million.
* Interstate 80 in Placer County, park-and-ride facility at Taylor Road, $7.2 million.
* Capitol Corridor passenger train from Roseville to Sacramento - third track, $500,000.
* Highway 99 interchange at Riego Road in Sutter County, $15 million.
* Highway 99 bridge widening over the Feather River, $47 million.
* Highway 70 four-lane expressway improvement in Yuba County, $25 million.
Source: Governor's Office
