U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal
U.S. Rep. Carbajal on Tuesday announced $23,577,941 in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding for transit improvements on the Central Coast.
Rep. Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, helped to craft the improvements in 2021.
“As a kid growing up in Oxnard, I learned firsthand the importance of reliable public transportation for my family and so many others on the Central Coast,” said Rep. Carbajal in a statement. “Now, through my work on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the landmark infrastructure law that I helped craft is delivering critical investments for transit improvements up and down our region. I look forward to working with our regional transit authorities and local leaders to ensure these funds improve transit availability and affordability, cut carbon pollution, and reduce traffic for all our area’s residents.”
Provided through the Federal Transit Administration, funding includes:
— $8,772,266 for Santa Barbara.
— $7,000,569 for Santa Maria.
— $1,763,907 for Lompoc.
— $4,815,298 for San Luis Obispo.
— $2,225,901 for Arroyo Grande.
“Congressman Carbajal’s influence has been paramount in safeguarding public transit system funding in smaller regions like ours so that we have the same access to federal resources as more urbanized areas,” Marjie Kirn, executive director of the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments, said in a statement. “We look forward to working with the congressman and regional transit operators in 2024 to protect critical federal public transportation investment in our county.”
The Central Coast funding is part of more than $2 billion in funding that California received for fiscal year 2023.
Since the law’s enactment, more than $370 million has been allocated to the Central Coast for infrastructure, clean water, climate resilience and other related projects.
These projects include $75 million for improvements to Highway 101, more than $6 million for airport improvements and funds to plug abandoned oil wells in Channel Islands National Park.
email: kzehnder@newspress.com
