California Transportation Commission slashes transportation funding
The California Transportation Commission approved a $754 million decrease over the next five years in projected funding available for the state’s transportation program.
According to the California Department of Transportation (CDOT), this marks the largest scaling back of the state’s transportation program since the creation of the current funding structure nearly 20 years ago.
The State Transportation Improvement Program is a planning document for funding future state highway, rail and transit improvements throughout California, reports CDOT. The revisions are a result of anticipated additional reductions in a portion of the gasoline excise tax, which is a major source of state funding for the program.
The California Transportation Commission is required by law to estimate the amount of funding expected to be available for the State Transportation Improvement Program, which is updated every two years. In August 2015, the commission approved a funding estimate for the 2016 program based on previous revenue forecasts. However, more recent projections point to a large drop in the money expected to be available for projects in the 2016 plan.
“What this means is that almost every county in California that relies on this source of funding for projects that improve traffic and air quality will have to cut or delay projects indefinitely,” says Lucy Dunn, chair of the California Transportation Commission. “The commission adopted the most optimistic scenario we could make in good conscience, in the hope agreement will be reached on a number of reforms and new funding increases currently under consideration by the legislature. But failing that, I fear we will be faced with even more Draconian cuts next year.”
According to CDOT, the legislature is currently considering proposals to reform the transportation program and increase transportation. The governor also presented a proposal for reforms and revenue.
About the Author: Allison Kral
Allison Kral is the former senior digital media manager for North Coast Media (NCM). She completed her undergraduate degree at Ohio University where she received a Bachelor of Science in magazine journalism from the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism. She works across a number of digital platforms, which include creating e-newsletters, writing articles and posting across social media sites. She also creates content for NCM's Portable Plants magazine, GPS World magazine and Geospatial Solutions. Her understanding of the ever-changing digital media world allows her to quickly grasp what a target audience desires and create content that is appealing and relevant for any client across any platform.Subscribe to Pit & Quarry
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to Pit & Quarry to receive more articles just like it.
