County to apply for federal grants for I-5, Old Road
Los Angeles County wants The Old Road and I-5 to become safer and less congested.
At their Oct. 31 meeting, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors plan to vote to apply for a grant competition for federal
funding for road projects through the United States Department of Transportation.
The I-5 Golden State Chokepoint Relief Program is one of three proposed by Supervisors Kathryn Barger and Janice Hahn.
“Los Angeles County is uniquely positioned to submit competitive projects for the (Infrastructure for Rebuilding America) grant competition that address major freight constraints, traffic chokepoints and congested corridors on the county’s regional highway system,” the motion read.
The program includes construction to the I-5 that is already underway, which will provide capacity and safety improvements through truck and HOV lanes, according to the motion.
Also, if the funding is provided, bridge and road improvements will be made to The Old Road, which will increase capacity, congestion relief and resiliency.
“This has been a high-priority project for the county and Supervisor Barger,” Barger’s Transportation Deputy Dave Perry said.
I-5 and The Old Road are being strategically packaged together because there is a limit on how many grant applications can be submitted, according to Perry.
“By packaging the two projects, it gives new look to the application and provides even more regional benefits,” he said.
The Old Road is often used as an alternate route when there is traffic on I-5 and serves as a main road in and out of town, Perry said.
As for the grant,, approximately $1.5 billion will be made available to projects the Department of Transportation selects.
The SCV project, as well as projects being submitted for I-105 and SR 57 and SR 60, is supported through Measure M.
“These projects… will be highly competitive and provide opportunities for local sales tax dollars to leverage federal and state funding commitments in support of improving traffic congestion and impacts on the Los Angeles County highway system,” the motion said.