Transportation Project Requests

2009 Highway and Transit Reauthorization Bill High Priority Project Requests

Below is a list of the project requests Congressman Schiff submitted to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee that may be included in the six-year national highways and transit bill when it is reauthorized.  The projects have been posted online in the interest of transparency.  Rep. Schiff submitted these projects because he believes they will make important investments in our regions infrastructure and are critical to the long-term safety and prosperity of our community.  Infrastructure projects such as these are an important tool to create jobs in the construction industry and will help stimulate the local economy during these difficult times.  The Transportation Committee is expected to select projects that will receive funding sometime in the 111th Congress.  Congressman Schiff will continue to work to support the interests of the 29th District. 

Alhambra

City of Alhambra

Historic Mission Road Improvement Project, Phase 2 - $2,356,000

Funds will be used to plan, design and conduct environmental review to rehabilitate Mission Road from First Street to the western city limits. The City has already completed Phase 1 rehabilitation of Mission Road from the eastern city limits to First Street. The project included the installation of landscape medians, pavement rehabilitation and street widening.  The improvements have profoundly complimented appearance and safety and have enhanced its historic appeal.  Historic Mission Road Improvement Project, Phase 2 would extend from First Street to the western City limits.  The work to be done would parallel that of Phase 1.  The construction of these improvements would help to create jobs in the region and stimulate the economy. The installation of raised medians would strictly control traffic operations and will also reduce excessive speeding.  

Burbank

City of Burbank

East Burbank Street Repair Project - $2,800,000

Funds will be used to plan, design and conduct environmental review to rehabilitate and reconstruct roadways in the Eastern portion of Burbank.  This will include pavement and roadbed reconstruction or rehabilitation, signing and striping improvement, traffic signal loop detectors and other signal infrastructure, and other rehabilitation activities.  The proposed project described in this application would complete approximately 35% of $10 million worth of immediate street repair priorities identified in the City of Burbank.

LED Pedestrian Safety Lighting and Signage -$75,000

Funding will be used to purchase and replace street signs in Burbank.  Internally illuminated street name signs are located at many of the newer traffic signals in the city. The City of Burbank has begun a program of changing these signs to non-electrical reflective signs. Replacement of all the internally illuminated signs will result in an annual energy savings of about $317,000. The internally illuminated sign replacement program also includes the replacement of existing signs with LED based signs in the downtown Burbank area along San Fernando Boulevard. The new signs would result in an annual energy savings of about 5,000 kilowatt hours, or about $7500 per year. The signs will also decrease maintenance and repair costs to the city of about $2,000 per year (including manpower), since the LED signs have over twice the life of the internally illuminated signs.

Glendale

Glendale Community College

Multimodal Transportation Facility - $2,000,000

Funding will be used to plan, design, engineer, conduct environmental analysis and construct a multimodal transportation facility at Glendale Community College in Glendale, CA.  Glendale Community College students have almost no public transportation options between the College’s two campuses, and relatively few parking options.  A multimodal transportation facility, combining parking, pedestrian access, and a bus stop would make considerable progress in easing the significant difficulties in getting to Glendale Community College, as well as traveling between the two campuses as necessary.

Intercampus Shuttle - $260,000

Funding will be used to purchase and deploy CNG shuttle buses at Glendale Community College in Glendale, CA.  There is currently no viable public transportation option between the two campuses.  If students want to take the bus for the five mile distance between campuses, they must allot almost two hours to travel the city’s bus routes.  This results in students taking their cars on both campuses.   If a student does not have a car, then they must limit their course selections accordingly.  An intercampus shuttle will reduce the amount of vehicular traffic for students, faculty, staff, and members of the community who need to be on both campuses. 

City of Glendale

Glendale Beeline Maintenance Facility, CNG Fuel and Service Island – $2,285,524
Funding will be used to construct a CNG Fuel and Service Island as part of the maintenance facility for Glendale Beeline’s sub-regional fixed route and paratransit services.  This facility will support fleet operations for 35 CNG buses, 7 paratransit vehicles, and related service vehicles. A new Beeline Maintenance Facility will enable the City to fulfill the City’s and FTA’s high maintenance and operational standards for transit system safety and quality customer service by providing support service for the Beeline transit system and Glendale Dial-A-Ride program.  The Glendale Beeline is the largest sub regional fixed route bus system in LA County serving over 2.5 million passengers per year.

Monterey Park

City of Monterey Park

Garfield Avenue Improvements - $1,400,000

Funding will be used to plan, design and conduct environmental review to reconstruct the southbound lanes of Garfield Avenue between Roca Way and El Repetto Drive and provide super elevations to separate the northbound lanes in Monterey Park, CA.  Garfield Avenue is a principal north-south arterial with a capacity of up to 40,000 vehicles per day that extends from the San Gabriel Valley to the Long Beach Harbor and facilitates the movement of goods and services that support the local and national economies.

Potrero Grande Drive Lighting and Median Improvements - $1,460,000

Funding will be used to plan, design and conduct environmental review to construct a street lighting system and a raised median island in Potrero Grande Drive, from Atlas Avenue to approximately 1,200 east of Greenwood Avenue in Monterey Park, CA.  Potrero Grande Drive is a Principal Arterial roadway that services the City of Monterey Park and several adjacent communities; this route facilitates movement of goods and commuters within the San Gabriel Valley that support the local and national economies.   
 
Pasadena

City of Pasadena

ARTS Bus System Vehicle Replacement - $1,140,000

Funding will be used to purchase alternative fuel buses to replace diesel buses that are currently operated by Pasadena Area Rapid Transit System (Pasadena ARTS).  Replacing diesel fuel buses is a regional air emissions goal and are known to have negative impacts on the health of people in the area. The buses will be used by Pasadena ARTS; a community circulator that provides more than 1.7 million passenger trips within the City of Pasadena.  More than 50 percent of these trips are for business, work or shopping within Pasadena and using these types of buses will facilitate more environmentally transportation.

Holy Street Bridge Rehabilitation Project - $2,000,000

Funding will be used to plan, design, engineer, conduct environmental review, and seismically retrofit improvements to Holly Street Bridge, which spans over the Arroyo Seco in Pasadena.  The bridge was found to have seismic deficiencies and its deteriorated and damaged concrete needs to be repaired to meet current seismic standards and which would result in significant structural improvement. 

San Gabriel

City of San Gabriel

Del Mar Avenue Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Project (From E. Wells Street to W. Mission Road) - $1,100,000

Funding will be used to construct and rehabilitate Del Mar Avenue from East Wells Street to West Mission Road in San Gabriel, CA for improved automobile and pedestrian access. The proposed improvements will consist of reconstructing and rehabilitating the pavement, removing and replacing damaged curb and gutter and drainage facilities, rehabilitating existing bus pads and sidewalk and parkway improvements, and upgrading and constructing ADA ramps to required standards. 

City of San Gabriel

Del Mar Avenue Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Project (From Mission Road to Broadway) - $700,000

Funding will be used to construct and rehabilitate Del Mar Avenue from Mission Road to Broadway in San Gabriel, CA for improved automobile and pedestrian access. The project will include removal and replacement of damaged curbs and gutter and drainage facilities; improvements to existing bus pads, sidewalks and parkway; and upgrading and constructing ADA ramps to required standards.

South Pasadena

City of South Pasadena

SR-110 Off-ramp Improvements - $1,500,000

Funding will be used to construct and improve the off-ramp at the intersection of SR-110 and Fair Oaks Avenue from State Street to Grevelia in the City of South Pasadena, CA.  Traffic congestion causes significant delays, increased air pollution and wear and tear on our roads.  All of which detract from the quality of life in the city. The completion of the project will help reduce the congestion exiting the SR-110 at Fair Oaks Ave and is critical to completing the City’s 710 mitigation efforts while increasing driver safety and reducing air pollution.   

Temple City    

City of Temple City

Transportation Enhancement to Las Tunas - $1,875,000

Funding will be used to plan, design and conduct environmental review to rehabilitate and improve Las Tunas Drive from Rosemead Boulevard to Rowland Street in Temple City, CA. The project will include transportation enhancement activities in the downtown retail area which is in dire need of improvement and local economic development. Funds will be used for sidewalk improvements, new landscaping and tree planting, underground utilities to provide enhanced street and sidewalk lighting, improvement of ADA facilities, crosswalk improvements, signal improvements, and installation of street furnishings.

Regional Projects

Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority

Gold Line Foothill Light Rail Extension - $3,330,000

Funding will be used to plan and design the extension of the Gold Line Foothill Light Rail project from Pasadena to Ontario Airport.  This will result in $43.5 billion in corridor economic development benefit generated through FY 2030 and will have and additional 17,611 boardings with 78,679 combined boardings per day for the entire line by the year 2025.  Energy savings by due to the extension is estimated at reducing 1.5 million gallons of gasoline each year and reduced levels of pollution by hundreds of tons per year. 

Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA)

Metrolink Positive Train Control - $5,000,000

Funding will be used for planning, research and design for the development and installation of a Positive Train Control system on the Metrolink commuter rail network throughout Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside and Ventura counties. The Positive Train Control system is a predictive collision avoidance technology designed to stop a train before a collision occurs.  Metrolink believes such a system could have prevented the Chatsworth Crash last year.  Key project elements include designing the computer-aided train dispatch system, the on-board (locomotives and cab cars) PTC computers, and the wayside equipment located along the transit right-of-way for each signal location and control point throughout the service area. 

Alameda Corridor-East Construction Authority, San Gabriel Valley

Grade Separations - $354,000,000

Funding will be used to construct, plan, design, engineer, conduct environmental review and acquire right-of-way for Alameda Corridor-East Construction Authority in San Gabriel Valley, CA to perform grade separation projects.  The ACE-SGV Project is the most comprehensive grade crossing/rail corridor safety improvement project in the nation. Designated by Congress as both a National High Priority Corridor and a Project of National and Regional Significance, the Project facilitates the movement of goods from the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach through the San Gabriel Valley and into the national goods movement network. The project will reduce a projected 300% increase in auto/truck traffic delay at crossings resulting from up to 160% increase in rail traffic and 40% increase in vehicular traffic.  It is estimated to stop 221 tons of air pollutants from being emitted annually in the worst air basin in the nation.