State - A list of 57 transportation projects – totaling $625 million – were adopted Thursday by the California Transportation Commission, as the first in line to receive infrastructure-focused federal economic stimulus dollars. Caltrans also voted to allocate funding for 56 of these projects, pending final approval by the Federal Highway Administration to release the stimulus funds, enabling construction to begin. “This is about jobs-jobs-jobs,” said Caltrans Director Will Kempton. “We plan on starting the first of these projects within 60 days – putting people to work as soon as possible. Caltrans will use the $625 million in federal economic stimulus funding to leverage other state resources, enabling construction to begin on hundreds of projects throughout California.” Nearly $565 million of the funding is targeted for projects in the State Highway Operations and Protection Program, including work on both rural and urban highways. Caltrans said these projects, including paving, fixing potholes, safety, and bridge preservation, receive funding first because protecting public safety is the highest priority and preserving the state’s investment in its highway system is highly cost-effective. The remaining $60 million of funding allocated today will go toward pavement preservation projects. California is expected to receive approximately $2.57 billion for highways, local streets and roads, freight and passenger rail, and port infrastructure projects from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed by President Obama on February 17. Staff Report This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.