SD gets cut of state funds for improving local highways
San Diego Union Tribune – San Diego,CA,USA
As part of the talks, SANDAG dropped a request for $52 million to build car
pool lanes on I-5 from Del Mar to Encinitas. SANDAG officials said
yesterday …

IRVINE – The state Transportation Commission yesterday divvied up $4.5 billion for highway improvement projects across California, including money to extend car pool lanes at a key San Diego pinch point.

Commissioners voted to set aside $82 million in bond funds to add the lanes on both sides of Interstate 805, from near Mira Mesa Boulevard to south of the I-5 split.

“All of that area is just so clogged up now because of the number of commuters and jobs in the region,” said San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, who lobbied for the funds.

Flush with money after the recent passage of a statewide bond measure, the commission also:

Allocated $350 million to expand the number of FasTrak lanes on jampacked I-15, from state Route 163 in San Diego to state Route 56 in Sabre Springs.

Set aside $19.4 million to add auxiliary lanes on a stretch of I-805 in Chula Vista. Transit officials say the southbound lanes will ease traffic flow.

In a related issue, officials with the San Diego Association of Governments yesterday said they plan to spend $52 million to add car pool lanes on I-5 from Del Mar to Encinitas.

The commission gave the San Diego region a total of $451 million in congestion relief funds – less than local officials wanted, but more than they had initially worried they would get.

Sanders pointed out that San Diego County received 10 percent of the highway improvement money, more than the region might warrant given its population.

“I think we’ve done very well,” Sanders said.

Other parts of California were less fortunate. The commission, for example, gave $383 million to Orange County, far less than what was requested.

The influx of funds stems from Proposition 1B, which was approved by voters in November. The measure required the commission to allocate the money by today.

The commission staff recommended last week that San Diego County receive $300 million, far less than what SANDAG, the region’s long-range planning agency, had requested.

But this week, the staff agreed to boost San Diego’s share, after talks with SANDAG and a lobbying campaign led by Sanders and San Diego Councilman Jim Madaffer.

As part of the talks, SANDAG dropped a request for $52 million to build car pool lanes on I-5 from Del Mar to Encinitas. SANDAG officials said yesterday that they now plan to use local TransNet funds – drawn from an existing, voter-approved sales tax – to pay for the improvements.

In return, the commission agreed to provide the $82 million needed to add the car pool lanes on I-805. Construction could begin by mid-2009.

A freeway interchange will be built to link the new lanes to Carroll Canyon Road, south of Mira Mesa Boulevard. The city of San Diego plans to spend $12 million of its own money for improvements on Carroll Canyon.

Expansion of the I-15 FasTrak lanes could begin by next year. The existing two-lane segment from state Routes 163 to 56 will be widened to four lanes.

Similar lanes are already planned or under construction from Sabre Springs to Escondido.

Once completed, the reversible lanes – built for car pool lane users, bus riders and toll-paying commuters – will stretch for 20 miles, from Miramar to state Route 78.

In Chula Vista, Caltrans will add two southbound auxiliary lanes on I-805, from E Street to state Route 54. The lanes will connect to existing on-and off-ramps.

When commission staffers unveiled their initial recommendations last week, elected officials across the state complained about being shortchanged.

Los Angeles politicians were particularly vocal, and they flooded a commission hearing last week in Sacramento.

The commission later agreed to expand the pot of money initially available to $4.5 billion and yesterday gave Los Angeles County one-quarter of it.

Given Los Angeles’ political clout, San Diego officials felt it was critical to maintain their lobbying effort.

“When the mayor of Los Angeles shows up and he’s got 100 people with him, you’ve got to counter that with something,” said Gary Gallegos, SANDAG executive director.

Staff writer Matthew T. Hall contributed to this report.