State allocates more than $32 million for LA County transportation projects

More than $32 million was allocated Thursday to Los Angeles County transportation projects by the California Transportation Commission, which set aside a total of $1.18 billion for projects to fix and improve transportation infrastructure throughout California.

“California has the most heavily traveled transportation system in the country,” said Caltrans Director Toks Omishakin. “Today’s investment will allow Caltrans to make critical repairs and upgrades to our state’s roads and bridges, increase options for transit, rail, walking and biking, and support thousands of jobs.”

The allocation includes:

• $5 million to the Transforming California: Bus Electrification Service Expansion & Rail Integration Project. This project includes the procurement of 20 zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell buses, will improve service frequency and create a transit corridor between the Pomona Metrolink station and El Monte station.
• $5.6 million for the Union Street Cycle Track Project, which will install a 1.5-mile, two-way, protected cycle track on Union Street from Hill Avenue to Arroyo Parkway, in Pasadena. The project includes signal modifications and a bicycle boulevard that will connect Union Street along Holliston Avenue to Cordova Street’s bicycle lanes;
• $1.6 million for a project on Las Flores Canyon Road in Malibu that will install protected left-turn signal phases for southbound traffic, extend the left-turn lane, upgrade facilities to Americans with Disabilities Act standards, and upgrade signal poles, mast arms and hardware; and
• $20.4 million for a project on state Route 2 in the Angeles National Forest, from Bay Tree Road to Big Pines Highway. The funding will upgrade existing guardrail, install new guardrail and install stormwater treatment to reduce the number and severity of collisions.

More than half of the total $1.18 billion allocated Thursday for transportation infrastructure projects was provided through Senate Bill 1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, according to the California Department of Transportation. The bill provides $5 billion each year, which is split between state and local agencies.

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