REGION: County gets $400 million for roads, tracks

State bond award called 'down payment' on third border crossing

By DAVE DOWNEY - Staff Writer | Thursday, April 10, 2008 9:10 PM PDT ∞

San Diego County received $400 million in state bond money Thursday for a third border crossing, port improvements and a second set of railroad tracks in Sorrento Valley.

The grants were among $3 billion in awards the California Transportation Commission made in a bid to speed the delivery of goods into the state from other countries and throughout California.

The cash came from one of the larger accounts within the $20 billion transportation bond voters approved in November 2006. Earlier, billions were distributed for projects that aim to ease congestion on urban freeways.

Regional officials welcomed the grants, which were expected because they matched the recommendations made last month by state transportation planners.

"The free flow of goods in and out of the San Diego region helps keep our regional economy strong," said Gary Gallegos, executive director for the San Diego Association of Governments, a transportation planning agency.

The grants will fund six projects in San Diego County.

Perhaps the most significant of those is the $75 million the state allocated for a third border crossing at Otay Mesa East that, when completed by the middle of the next decade, is expected to substantially reduce delays at the two existing crossings. The project also entails constructing a new 2.5-mile-long state highway spur ---- to be numbered Route 11 ---- linking the new border crossing with the county's highway system.

"The 75 million is like a down payment on the $700 million project to build a third border crossing and SR 11," said David Hicks, a spokesman for the association.

The commission awarded:

---- $91.6 million for extending Interstate 905 parallel to the border.

---- $98.6 million for a freeway connection and terminal improvements at the Port of San Diego.

---- $124 million for improvements to the freight railroad along the border.

---- $10.8 million for the laying down of a second track expansion along a section of the coastal railroad owned by the North County Transit District near Sorrento Valley.

The commission funded 79 projects statewide, including rail and road improvements in the vicinity of the giant twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and rail overpasses in the Riverside area.

The overpasses are in large part quality-of-life projects. They are located at crossings where the increasing volume of rail traffic heading east from the ports is multiplying delays for motorists.

"It is important that we continue investing in the state's infrastructure in a way that improves the overall quality of life for all Californians," Dale Bonner of the state Business, Transportation and Housing Agency said in a prepared statement.

Contact staff writer Dave Downey at (760) 745-6611, Ext. 2623, or ddowney@nctimes.com.