The Press Enterprise (Report)
Transportation: Region In Line For Vital Freeway Funding
By Dug Begley & Ben Goad
| Staff Writers
Toll lanes are coming to Corona, transportation officials
said, following a federal announcement providing the last funding piece for
Riverside County’s largest road project.
The U.S. Transportation Department announced Tuesday it
would accept an application for the funds need to complete a $1.3 billion
project to widen a chronically congested stretch of Highway 91.
The announcement, a major victory or Inland Southern
California after two earlier tries failed to get all the money needed, was
hailed as the game – changing decision that will finally extend toll lanes into
Riverside County.
“Having this announcement really moves this project from
being something that wasn’t exactly there yet,” said John Standiford, deputy
director of the Riverside County Transportation Commission. “It’s less
conceptual and a bit more real now.”
The work will extend the two toll lanes between Highway 55
and the Orange County line to Interstate 15 in Corona, as well as add a
general-use lane in both directions from the county line to Pierce Street in
Riverside.
About one-third of the project, $444.6 million, will be
funded by a federal loan, which local officials will repay once the project is
completed in about five years.
“We are fully engaged and anxious to get stated,” said
Supervisor John Benoit.
The project would create an estimated 4,6000 jobs in
Riverside County and as many as 16,000 statewide. Construction would start in
fall 2013, with work expected to finish in late 2017.
Along the route, numerous business will be affected by the
widening, something officials have been addressing for years through some land
purchases. More land will be acquired once the environmental analysis is
approved by state and federal officials.
Tuesday’s announcement follows a decision in January to loan
the project about $200 million. Though officials commended the earlier award,
they said more was needed to ensure the project had all its funding in place.
CRITICAL FUNDING
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the Riverside
County Transportation Commission has been selected to apply for the funds
through the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, which
provides loans, loan guarantees and lines of credit to large and nationally or
regionally significant transportation projects.
Beniot said the decision by Congress to expand the TIFIA
program helped Riverside County make the cut, albeit in two stages.
“When you’re looking for $400 million or so and the whole
pot is just double that, your chances are slim,” Benoit said.
Federal transportation officials will loan the
transportation commission one-third of the project’s expected cost. Tolls
collected on the route will repay the money, as well as other bonds the
transportation commission will sell to fund the project.
For drivers, the toll trip will be seamless, with Riverside
and Orange counties sharing their portion of the revenues for tolls paid in the
respective counties.
Inland officials have looked to the federal government for
$444.6 Million needed to complete financing
for the project. The final award is subject to final terms and
negotiations, but area lawmakers heralded LaHood’s announcement, as am
approval.
“This is the last piece of the puzzle,’ said Rep. Ken
Calvert, a vocal supporter of the freeway upgrade. “The 91 freeway is a famous
bottleneck that hinders goods movement to the rest of the county, and it’s a
local commuter nightmare.”
Calvert, R-Corona, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who
worked together on the effort, both said they received phone calls early
Tuesday from LaHood, informing them of the news.
“Last month while driving on State Route 91, I saw firsthand
the congestion that hamstrings hundreds of thousands of Californians, not only
during rush hour, but 24 hours a day, “Feinstein said. “The 91 Corridor
improvement Project will improve the lives of millions of Californians while
substantially growing the regional economy across Southern California.”
Read More Visit: http://www.pe.com/local-news/politics/ben-goad-headlines/20120424-transportation-region-in-line-for-vital-freeway-funding.ece
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