U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo, touts fed funding

In November, Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal. The $1.2 trillion federal legislation set money aside to repair roads and bridges while boosting public transportation infrastructure, with the Bay Area expected to receive $4.5 billion. Speier and local transportation officials held a press conference Friday to emphasize the bill’s role in improving transportation, noting funding would help upgrade the Highway 101 and State Route 92 interchange in San Mateo and enhance SamTrans bus services.

Speier said funding could address direct connectors along the Highway 101 and State Route 92 interchange so buses and carpoolers can avoid crowded on- and off-ramps. The Highway 101 and State Route 92 Interchange Direct Connector Project is ongoing and entered the Project Approval and Environmental Document phase in February 2021. Funds could also be used for smaller projects, like widening, realigning and restriping the connections at State Route 92 and Highway 101. The improvements would reduce vehicle congestion and abrupt slowdowns on State Route 92 toward Foster City. She noted that 20 bridges in San Mateo County are deficient, meaning they can no longer handle modern traffic congestion.

“With the benefit of this trillion dollars, it’s much more likely that these projects will be funded in the future,” Speier said.

Another improvement project targeted is the Highway 101 and Woodside Road interchange, built when President Dwight Eisenhower was in office. The often crowded interchange has been considered for improvements since 1988. It serves Stanford clinics, the Google campus, the Port of Redwood City and a future ferry terminal. Redwood City has committed $61 million to the project and wants $50 million to $80 million from the federal government, something Speier is striving to get for Redwood City.

“Getting that particular interchanged improved is truly life-saving and life delivering,” Speier said.

SamTrans board Chair Peter Ratto said federal funding was a game-changer in SamTrans’ commitment to a fully zero-emission bus fleet by 2038. By switching, SamTrans is reducing its carbon footprint and emissions to low-income communities in San Mateo County. Operating an expanded zero-emission fleet will require significant investments to the existing infrastructure, including funding from outside county taxes. SamTrans’ preliminary estimates for the infrastructure investment are at nearly $400 million by 2038.

“We hope to utilize these federal funds to help usher in our new zero-emission future,” Ratto said.

The San Mateo County Transportation Authority, which administers proceeds from sales tax measures like Measure A, will also benefit from the funds. Chair Rico Medina, also the San Bruno mayor, noted funds could help fund grade separations along the Caltrain corridor, improve bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure and create new bike lanes under the Highway 101/State Route 92 interchange. He noted the act includes competitive grant programs worth $500 million per year that focus on pedestrian safety the Transportation Authority wants to pursue.

“These federal dollars could help San Mateo County expand our bike network, improve safety and help connections, especially in underserved communities,” Medina said.

The City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County, or C/CAG, the county’s transportation agency, hopes the federal legislation will fund the Managed Lanes Project north of Interstate 380. It would add a lane for Highway 101 from the Interstate 380 interchange in South San Francisco to the San Francisco County line. The managed lanes would allow buses, shuttles and carpoolers to use a dedicated lane and reduce reliance on single-occupancy vehicles.

curtis@smdailyjournal.com

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