U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla announced $258M in DOT grants for 25 CA transportation projects. Funding supports infrastructure upgrades in cities like Tracy, Yuba, LA, SF, Palmdale, Santa Cruz, Hanford, as well as Caltrans and Goleta. Projects include road improvements, bridge constructions, train control systems, multi-use trails, and corridor enhancements to enhance connectivity and safety across the state.
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U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) will award 25 California projects a combined $258 million for transportation infrastructure upgrades.
U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla announced on Jan. 7, 2025, that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) will award 25 California projects a combined $258 million for transportation infrastructure upgrades.
The grants come through three programs funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Grant Program, the Reconnecting Communities Pilot (RCP) Grant Program, and the Rural Surface Transportation Grant (Rural)
Program.
Padilla supported the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law's substantial increase in funding for the RAISE program, which invests in road, rail, transit and port projects across the country. The RCP — which focuses on improving access to daily needs such as jobs, education, health care, food, nature and recreation — was modeled off the Reconnecting Communities Act that Padilla co-led in 2021. The Rural program supports projects that improve safety, connectivity and economic growth in rural communities.
"Far too many communities across California have been cut off by old highway construction projects or are struggling with aging transportation infrastructure in their own neighborhoods," Padilla said.
City of Tracy — $41.35 Million
The project includes three elements:
• I-580/Corral Hollow Road Interchange improvements constructing two roundabouts at the freeway ramp intersections, widening the overcrossing at I-580, and installing a Class I path;
• Corral Hollow Road Improvements widening the two-lane roadway to a divided four-lane roadway with multimodal facilities and replacing the bridges over the California Aqueduct and Delta Mendota Canal; and
• Corral Hollow Road/Linne Road intersection improvements with a new traffic signal, turn lanes, and a strengthened at-grade crossing.
Yuba County — $35.52 Million
The project will extend Plumas Lake Boulevard eastward, over SR 70, using two bridges, one spanning the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) and one spanning the Western Pacific Interceptor Canal (WPIC), to connect easterly to Plumas-Arboga Road.
The project will eliminate an existing at-grade UPRR crossing on Plumas-Arboga Road. The extension also will serve the proposed location for a new North Valley Rail Stop.
Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles — $26.64 Million
This set of three related projects will mitigate transportation-related disadvantages and challenges by removing barriers to daily destinations and by creating a cohesive network of safe and accessible pathways and facilities for all users.
The projects address burdens caused by the Metro A Line, create safe and accessible pathways via new Complete Streets, retrofit existing streets to improve active transportation connectivity, improve a heat island-impacted area to increase resilience to climate change and spur affordable housing and economic development activities for Watts residents.
San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) District — $25 Million
This project will replace the existing train control system with a new moving-block signaling system known as a communications-based train control (CBTC) system. BART D-Cars will be outfitted with the processor-based controllers, transponders, communication equipment and location sensors.
City of Palmdale — $23 Million
This project will construct the railroad grade separation of Rancho Vista Boulevard at both Sierra Highway and the at-grade crossing of Metrolink and UPRR tracks. This will consist of a six-lane grade separation (overpass) of Rancho Vista Boulevard at its intersection with the railroad tracks east of Sierra Highway and will include access ramps to Sierra Highway.
Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission — $19.50 Million
The project will fund construction activities for approximately 32 mi., universally accessible multi-use trail along the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line, an underused rail corridor. These segments reach from the city and county of Santa Cruz to other parts of the Monterey Bay area. The project comprises approximately 7.5 mi. of a universally accessible multi-use trail.
City of Hanford — $15.53 Million
This project will fund engineering design, public outreach and construction activities for corridor improvements along approximately 0.8 mi. in Downtown Hanford between the Hanford Amtrak Station and Tenth Avenue, including Historic China Alley, and around the Civic Center Park. The project will include roadway and intersection safety improvements, ADA upgrades, two bus stop improvements, wayfinding signage, micromobility amenities, lighting, stormwater improvements, electric vehicle charging stations and electronic informational displays.
Caltrans — $14.93 Million
This project will reconstruct the existing U.S. 101 and Sunset Avenue interchange with two roundabouts. The project also will provide pedestrian and bicycle access, new bus stops, signage, lighting, ADA improvements, as well as connections to the adjacent Class I trail system.
City of Goleta — $11.16 Million
This project will build a separated and dedicated multipurpose underpass through U.S. 101, the UPRR tracks, and SR 217 to eliminate a barrier and connect residents located in Old Town Goleta to education, employment, housing, services, and amenities in the north and south.
The project will create a new Class I bicycle path and pedestrian amenities and improve pedestrian and cyclist safety along adjacent high-volume arterials and freeway underpasses with inconsistent infrastructure. The project also will create a new connection for the surrounding street network, offering residents, for the first time, direct access to the grocery stores, health care services, green spaces and the educational, employment and recreational opportunities north of the city, directly across the highway.
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