Bay Area to get transit windfall

"Federal transportation money comes with a use-it or lose-it kicker, and the Bay Area consistently puts whatever federal dollars it gets to work right away. This allowed us to scoop up some of the dollars that other regions had to forfeit," Transportation Commissioner Mike Nevin said yesterday.

Commission staff is proposing that approximately half of the new revenue, some $55 million, help fund expansion projects on four Bay Area highways: the U.S. Highway 101 Steel Lane Interchange in Sonoma County, a high-occupancy vehicle gap closure on Highway 101 in Marin County, the widening of a stretch of Interstate Highway 238 that runs from Castro Valley to San Leandro and the widening of State Route 92 in Half Moon Bay.

"We lost some money last year for widening [State Route] 92. They are landlocked so to speak and it's almost dangerous because they can't get off the coast in the case of the emergency," Nevin said.

Also slated to receive a boost from the unexpected new revenue are BART, the Golden Gate Ferry, San Francisco Municipal Railway and Caltrain. Some $22 million of the new revenue may be directed to the agencies with the greatest share going to Caltrain for track, rail car and fare equipment replacements, according to the commission's proposal.

Nearly $22.5 million of the new revenue may be allocated for city street improvement projects throughout the Bay Area, including Novato, Fairfax, Napa, Sonoma, Daly City and Brisbane, the commission reported.

Nearly $7 million of the new transportation revenue is being proposed to fund system-management projects, such as the 511 traffic-information system, and other safety projects, including the Golden Gate Bridge suicide deterrent system.

Commission staff proposed that $1.6 million help fund an engineering analysis and environmental review of a suicide barrier on the bridge, a study that could cost a total of $2 million and take up to two years to complete, according to the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District's Building and Operating Committee.

A barrier could take another two years to build and cost an estimated $15 million to $25 million, according to the committee.

The majority of the $122 million the commission promised to Bay Area transportation projects, some $107 million, comes from the federal Surface Transportation Program and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program.

The commission announced it would direct an additional $15 million from other state and federal funds to its Lifeline Transportation Program, which is designed to improve the mobility of low-income Bay Area residents.

The commission must invest the federal funds by Sept. 30.

The proposed spending plan requires approval by the full commission and will be discussed at its April 27 meeting.