In light of the current economy and the cutbacks that many transportation agencies are facing, a groundbreaking I recently attended for a new roadway in Solano County – a small, 2-lane stretch of 4-lane highway along the north side of I-80 – really got me thinking. This little road may not sound like a big deal, but it actually may go down as one of the most important projects in the country.
Why? The project provides an example of how local communities can solve their transportation problems locally and without federal help, even in one of the worst economic times in our history.
This was the situation: Although it was determined that a new local reliever road would keep local traffic from needing to use I-80, thereby reducing congestion, the project ran into major setbacks: the community wasn’t too sure about a new road and the environmental process was frought with pitfalls. Agricultural impacts, stream crossings, endangered species, archaeological resources – you name a planning or environmental challenge, and this project seemed to find it. During the environmental documentation process, the project was delayed because the county was trying to clear the project under federal (NEPA) as well as state (CEQA) environmental laws in hopes that someday federal money would be coming and to streamline possible federal permits.
However, the county’s first step towards successfully bringing this project to fruition was realizing the problem was a local one and that it needed be solved locally. Once it became clear that federal dollars were not destined or even needed, we quickly abandoned the NEPA process, wrapped up the CEQA document, and cut at least a year off the delivery schedule. Which brings us to another major reason this project is a national example.
It’s the first construction project ever for the Solano Transportation Authority (STA). Construction projects for transportation authorities may not seem like a big deal, but for STA they are. Many of the transportation authorities in California are what are called “self help” agencies. This means they have been able to pass a local sales tax that goes directly to the transportation authority to fund transportation improvements. These funds are “matched” with regional, state and federal dollars. When this occurs, very quickly you have lots of money to spend on construction. But in Solano County they have been trying for a decade to pass a local sales tax with no success. In this day and age, if you can’t generate money from a local sales tax you can pretty much forget about building new roadways. But in Solano County they did it without a sales tax. Through perseverance, defining clear projects with clear benefits, and knocking on every door, they were able to cobble together the money from local, regional and state sources to get this job done.
Yes it was hard, took time, and it’s a heck of a lot easier if you have a sales tax, but it can be done.