An upcoming project to fix two bridges in Santa Barbara County has received $2.2 million from the California Transportation Commission.
The work will upgrade the structures and bridge rails at the La Colina Road and Primavera Road undercrossings on State Route 154.
The funding is part of a $90.4 million statewide allocation for State Highway Operation and Protection Program projects funded by Senate Bill 1. According to a Caltrans press release, the $90.4 million is part of a $758.1 million allocation for 91projects and will allow for the improvement of 21 bridges across the state.
The La Colina and Primavera undercrossing upgrades are the only projects in Santa Barbara County that are covered by the latest round of funding, said Susana Cruz, spokeswoman for Caltrans District 5.
The $9.5 million not covered by the allocations will come directly from SHOPP funding.
The project is now in the “project approval and environmental document” stage and has several more processes to go through before construction starts in May 2020. Construction is projected to last two years.
SB 1, also known as the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, provides a large portion of the funding for SHOPP, also called the “fix-it-first” program. Caltrans Director Laurie Berman said the SB 1 funds “allow us now to proactively maintain our bridges, repair our roadways, and ensure our drainage systems can handle the winters ahead.”
In addition to bridge repairs, the $90.4 million allocation will allow more than 189 miles of pavement to be improved and 81 culverts to be repaired or replaced.
Separate from the $90.4 million, the Transportation Commission approved more than $5.1 million in SB 1 funding to the Local Partnership Program, which assists local communities by matching the investments they make through voter-approved transportation tax measures, and $14.8 million for Active Transportation Program projects, which include improving sidewalks and bicycle lanes and providing safer routes for kids who walk or ride their bicycles to school.
