Caltrans news release

BISHOP — Caltrans will begin more than 120 new “Fix-it-First” projects this fiscal year (July 2018 – June 2019), replacing, repairing and improving more than 6,700 lane miles of pavement, 250 culverts and 320 bridges across the state, due to funds from Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017. These projects got the green light after the department received almost half a billion dollars of SB 1 funding for new state highway maintenance projects this fiscal year.

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“Without the funds from SB 1, some of these projects would be postponed, costing taxpayers a lot more money down the road,” saidCaltrans Director Laurie Berman. “It would be like putting Band-Aids on our roads and bridges instead of the long-term repair and repaving projects provided by SB 1.”

Caltrans is planning to use about $400 million in SB 1 funds for new maintenance projects to replace, repair and improve the existing state highway, bridges and drainage systems. Work includes repairing the state highway by eliminating cracks and potholes on roadways; replacing pavement; performing preventative maintenance work to preserve bridges and roads; replacing and repairing culverts/drainage systems to prevent flooding on roadways; widen striping size from four to six inches on roads to increase safety and visibility for motorists. See the attached list for more details.

New SB 1 funded maintenance projects coming to Inyo, Mono and Eastern Kern Counties include:

 

  • Pavement Project on State Route 58 in Kern County: $3 million pavement project will improve 2.4 lane miles of State Route 58 from east of California City Boulevard to west of Twenty Mule Team Road in the town of North Edwards in Kern County.

 

  • Pavement Project on State Route 178 & US Highway 395 in Kern County: $4.7 million pavement project will improve 24 lane miles of State Route 178 from east of Cane Brake Bridge in the town of Onyx to west of Walker Pass Campground in Kern County, and U.S. Highway 395 from south of State Route 178/U.S. Highway 395 separation to State Route 14/U.S. Highway 395 separation in the town of Inyokern in Kern County.

 

  • Pavement Project on State Route 178 in Inyo County: $2.1 million pavement project will improve 13.8 lane miles of State Route 178 from west of Furnace Creek Wash Road to State Route 127 in the town of Shoshone in Inyo County.

 

  • Drainage Project on U.S. Highway 395 in Mono County: $60,000 drainage project will replace culverts along U.S. Highway 395 near McPherson Subdivision Road in the town of Lee Vining in Mono County.

 

  • Drainage Project on State Route 190 in Inyo County: $285,000 drainage project will repair and replace culverts along State Route 190 from south of State Route 190/ State Route 136 Intersection to west of Talc City Road in the town of Olancha in Inyo County.

 

  • Striping Project on State Route 58 in Kern County: $7.8 million project will widen striping and increase visibility on 227 lane miles of State Route 58 from east of Bealville Road in the town of Keene to west of Twenty Mile Team Road in the town of North Edwards in Kern County.

 

  • Striping Project on U.S. Highway 395 in Inyo County: $7.2 million project will widen striping and increase visibility on 226 lane miles of U.S. Highway 395 from the Kern/Inyo County line to south of Los Angeles Aqueduct Bridge in the town of Olancha in Inyo County, and south of Ash Creek Road in the town of Olancha to north of Fort Road in the town of Independence in Inyo County.

Since the passage of SB 1, Caltrans has used SB 1 funds to accelerate more than 120 maintenance projects across the state. So far,Caltrans has completed 42 SB 1 funded maintenance projects, replacing more than 600 lane miles of state highway and improving 33 bridges. By the end of this calendar year, Caltrans is expected to improve an additional 178 bridges and repair or replace an additional 1,200 lane miles. For a complete list and to see an interactive map of SB 1 state and local projects, visit http://www.rebuildingca.ca.gov/.

SB 1 provides an ongoing funding increase of approximately $1.8 billion annually for the maintenance and rehabilitation of the state highway system, including $400 million specifically for bridges and culverts. SB 1 funds will enable Caltrans to fix more than 17,000 lane miles of pavement, 500 bridges and 55,000 culverts by 2027. Caltrans will also fix 7,700 traffic operating systems, like ramp meters, traffic cameras and electric highway message boards that help reduce highway congestion.

 

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