Several of the strategic goals identified by the Transportation Agency Board of Directors are to deliver the Measure X regional program of projects, while strategically utilizing debt financing to expedite delivery, and leveraging as much matching funds as possible. With the passage of California Senate Bill 1 (Beall), several new transportation funding programs were created from which the Transportation Agency will potentially be able to leverage Measure X and other existing fund sources. To ensure coordination between the various fund sources, which all have different requirements and eligibility, the Transportation Agency prepared the 2021 Integrated Funding Plan that coincides with the 2022 State Transportation Improvement Program cycle.
The Regional Transportation Improvement Program (RTIP) is a program of highway, local road, transit and active transportation projects that a region plans to fund with State and Federal revenue programmed by the California Transportation Commission in the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP). The RTIP is developed biennially by the regions and is due to the Commission by December 15 of every odd numbered year.
Staff's funding proposal for the 2022 Regional Transportation Improvement Program reflects TAMC’s dedication to improving statewide and regional travel by constructing high-priority highway, regional road, rail, and bicycle and pedestrian transportation projects throughout the region. To that end, the Transportation Agency selected projects to program in the 2022 Regional Transportation Improvement Program that are either ready for construction or moving quickly through pre-construction phases; are regional priority projects in Measure X with multimodal features; are in the adopted or draft Sustainable Communities Strategy; and are excellent candidates for the Senate Bill 1 grant programs.
The 2021 Integrated Funding Plan project list was approved by the Transportation Agency Board at the May 26, 2021 meeting. The attached project list (Attachment 1) is a modified version showing the new project funding information. A summary of staff's new funding recommendations follows (new programming is underlined):
- Scenic State Route 68 Corridor: This project received $3,400,000 of State Transportation Improvement Program funds in fiscal year 2018/19, along with $2.6 million of federal Highway Infrastructure Program funds, for the environmental phase. Caltrans has informed Agency staff that an additional $3.259 million will necessary to complete the environmental phase to design and conduct environmental assessments on the roundabouts proposed for the corridor. Staff is proposing to use $799,000 of unprogrammed federal Highway Infrastructure Program funds, $831,000 of 2022 State Transportation Improvement Program funds, and $1.630 million of unprogrammed State Local Partnership Program formula funds to cover this amount. The project also has an additional $18.6 million of State Transportation Improvement Program funds currently programmed in fiscal year 2022/23 for the final design and right-of-way phases that is being shifted to fiscal year 2023/24 to align with the current project schedule. Finally, staff is proposing to program $6.169 million of 2022 State Transportation Improvement Program funds to the construction of Phase 1 improvements as a match for a potential future Senate Bill 1 Congested Corridors grant in fiscal year 2025/26.
- US 101 South of Salinas Corridor: This project is currently programmed with $8,611,000 of State Transportation Improvement Program funds for the environmental phase in fiscal year 2021/22. Staff is proposing to program $1.973 million of 2022 State Transportation Improvement Program funds in fiscal year 2022/23 to fully-fund the environmental phase. Caltrans has the option to request these funds in an earlier fiscal year if the project moves ahead of schedule.
In addition to the new funding listed above, staff is proposing to carry-over the existing funding that is programmed for the State Route 156 / Castroville Boulevard Interchange Project and Packages 2 and 3 of the Salinas Rail Extension project. Agency staff will revise the plan based on comments received and prepare a revised proposal for the October Board meeting. At the December Board meeting, Agency staff will bring the finalized proposal forward as the Regional Transportation Improvement Program, which is the document the Agency is required to submit in order to receive the County's share of State Transportation Improvement Program funds.