California rail projects win big as state announces millions in transportation funding

Metrolink

The pot of cash available to contractors, engineers and other rail-service providers in California just got bigger. The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) announced last week that the California Transportation Commission (CTC) will allocate more than $600 million for hundreds of transportation projects, including a number of high-profile rail jobs.

The Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program was allocated nearly $32 million for four rail and transit projects, according to Caltrans. Among these rail-related projects are:

The Monterey County Rail Extension, which is working to extend passenger rail service from Santa Clara County south to Salinas, will get $11.2 million to build direct signalized access to the train station via an extension of Lincoln Avenue, bus transfer area for local and intercity buses, bike lanes and storage, expanded and improved parking including loading zones, and pedestrian crossings. (Contractors interested in building the Salinas train station have until Feb. 13 to submit bids.)

The Metrolink commuter rail system will get $29.8 million for design work along its Orange, San Bernardino and Ventura line, including improvements to the Marengo siding and double track in Simi Valley, according to a news release from Caltrans.

The funds for Metrolink come just two months after the rail operator announced its chief executive officer would retire and be replaced by two interim co-CEOs.