Carbajal Brings $1 Billion to Central Coast Infrastructure

Congressmember Salud Carbajal marked a milestone $1 billion in funding for Central Coast infrastructure projects, awarded from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, with a tour on Tuesday of the many places where federal dollars are being invested in Santa Barbara County.

Hopping aboard one of Santa Barbara’s all-electric buses, run by the Metropolitan Transit District, Carbajal highlighted how the massive fund is being put to use across the county — including funding to renovate highway stretches, bridge replacements, add new electric buses to city and school fleets, upgrade airports, expand high-speed internet, and improve access to clean water. For Santa Barbara County alone, the funds amount to more than $265 million, with funds further earmarked for San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties.

The tour provided a survey of the San Jose Creek bridge replacement in Goleta as well as a stop at the Santa Barbara Train Station to highlight investments that are set to improve Central Coast rail options.

The billion-dollar mark comes after last year’s announcement that more than $550 million would be delivered to the Central Coast. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, a keynote of the Biden-Harris administration signed in November 2021, has flooded states across the country with much-needed federal infrastructure funding. “It is clear that this once-in-a-generation law has launched a revitalization of our region and our state,” noted the U.S. Representative.

Rep. Carbajal was joined by members of the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG), Caltrans, Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District (MTD), the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA), and other local officials.

“We did not do it alone,” Carbajal stated. “It is these locals and state partners behind me that are making the promise of this infrastructure law come to reality.”

When addressing ARTBA, Carbajal noted that “they represent the biggest win-win of this infrastructure law … jobs, jobs, jobs.” In Santa Barbara County alone, more than 13,000 jobs are expected to be created as a result of the investment, noted a local official.

An (Incomplete) List of Projects

Highways/Bridges — funding largely passing through Caltrans:

• $67 million to support construction of remaining segments of the U.S. 101 improvement project and $70 million TIFIA (Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act) loan for 101 improvements
• More than $30 million for bridge and highway improvements along the 101 and State Route 217, including the replacement of the San Jose Creek Bridge
• $14 million for the Floradale Bridge Replacement near Lompoc
• $13.9 million to replace the Hollister Avenue Bridge in Goleta
• $12 million to replace the Carpinteria Avenue Bridge
• $800,000 for a new bridge over Refugio Creek at Refugio Road

Other:

• $25 million to cap abandoned oil wells in the Santa Maria Valley/Cat Canyon
• $10 million for the Santa Barbara Municipal Airport
• $9.6 million for Carpinteria’s Advanced Purification Project
• $5.8 million for Santa Barbara’s transit operations (Federal Transit Administration)
• $2 million for Goleta Water District’s airport well treatment project
• $2.9 million to MTD for new electric buses (increasing the electric fleet to 41)
• $1 million for studying improvements for the Surfliner LOSSAN (Los Angeles–San Diego) corridor and rail service between San Luis Obispo and San Jose
• $800,000 for the City of Santa Barbara Safe Streets for All Action Plan
• $600,000 for shoreline resilience work in Carpinteria