County agrees how to spend 1B road money

In the event the County of San Diego receives its Proposition 1B funding for local roads, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 recently to adopt a resolution designating up to $41.5 million for specific street and road projects.

Among allocations for road drainage improvements are $130,000 on 11th Street and $90,000 for San Vicente Road.

Prop. 1B, approved by the state’s voters in November 2006, authorized $2 billion for local streets and roads. The money is allocated to cities and counties by a formula.

Although California’s current inability to sell bonds has adversely affected the distribution of Prop. 1B money, San Diego County expects to receive up to $31.1 million for the current fiscal year.

The state fiscal crisis has seen the suspension of Prop. 42 and other gas tax funding. The county reports seeing lower-than-expected construction bids for federal stimulus money allocated to the county through exchanges of San Diego Association of Governments funding sources.

Several projects for which Prop. 1B funding had been anticipated were funded with money from other sources or had a balance, and the county has a 2008-09 Prop. 1B funding balance of approximately $10.4 million.

To receive Prop. 1B funding, the county must submit a list of projects for which the money will be used. If funds are not allocated by a city or county by July 1, 2010, that money will revert to the state’s account.

The county’s allocations consist of $16.57 million for roadway resurfacing and rehabilitation projects, $12.98 million for road improvement projects that include curbs and gutters and intersections and road lanes, $4.72 million for signal synchronization and other traffic operation improvements, $4.17 million for sidewalk and pathway projects including local matching funds, and $3.07 million for roadway drainage projects.

The resurfacing and rehabilitation expenditures consist of $10.4 million for various road resurfacing and rehabilitation projects, $5.3 million for rubberized emulsion aggregate slurry treatments, $820,000 for curb, gutter, and sidewalk repair, and $70,000 for crack sealing.