Amador County – The California Transportation Commission last week allocated $271 million in new funding to 73 projects for transportation improvements, including $326,000 to the Jackson Vista Point park improvement project.
Jackson received the funds through the Amador County Transportation Commission with an application written by Jackson City Councilman Keith Sweet and local grant writer Rene Chapman.
The California Transportation Commission description of the work said the Jackson Vista Point Improvement Project will update and improve interpretive signs, expand the scenic overlook viewing areas, create compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act for all parking and pedestrian areas, provide a drinking fountain and lighting and greatly improve the appearance of this gateway area in the city of Jackson.
The Vista Point park is located above Highway 49 & 88 as it descends past the Kennedy Mine, and toward downtown Jackson. Jackson City Council is also considering moving a monument the Caminetti Monument from Sutter Street and Highway 44/88 up to the Vista Point Park, depending on how much it will cost. The Council in February approved the move in concept, but will look at the cost of moving the 15-foot tall, 4x4-foot obelisk, which has been at the park since 1938.
Chantel Miller of Caltrans Stockton District 10 said the $271 million in allocations will “improve the state’s highways and rail systems and enhance the state’s economic recovery.”
Acting Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty said Caltrans is “focused on reducing traffic congestion, increasing safety, and improving goods movement to boost California’s economy.”
The awarded funding includes $214 million from proposition 1B, a transportation bond approved by voters in 2006, Miller said. In total, more than $11 billion in proposition 1B funds have been distributed statewide. The remaining $57 million in allocations came from assorted transportation accounts funded by state and federal dollars.
Mammoth Lakes in Mono County received $343,000 to build a “College Connector Path,” a quarter-mile long recreational multi-use paved path.
Stanislaus County received $140,000 for landscaping in the city of Patterson. Placer County received $8.3 million for 16 miles of highway pavement improvements.
The Sacramento Tree Foundation received $340,000 for the Stones Lakes Blue Heron Trails visitor station, to “restore lands on the Stone Lakes National Wildlife Refuge,” where “four acres of oak savannah habitat will be created and five acres of native grasslands will be enhanced.”
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
