Newsroom

Federal Stimulus Dollars At Work

A successful groundbreaking ceremony took place this morning for another federal stimulus funded transportation project in Monterey County—the repaving of Espinosa Road. The project consists of overlaying Espinosa Road with hot mix asphalt, from State Route 183 to State Highway 101, for a total length of approximately 5 miles. The work is being administered by the Monterey County Public Works Department.

The total project cost is $3,600,000 with funding comprised of $2,100,000 of Economic Stimulus Package monies and $1,000,000 of Regional Surface Transportation Program funds allocated to the County by the Transportation Agency, plus $500,000 from the State’s Proposition 1B. Construction work will begin on Monday, August 17, 2009, for this heavily used corridor, and the project is expected to be completed by the end of November 2009.

Congressman Sam Farr participated in the groundbreaking ceremony where dignitaries symbolically turned shovels of dirt for the project. “The Recovery Act was drafted with three goals in mind: to jumpstart our economy, employ Americans and modernize our infrastructure. The transportation construction funds coming into our region are accomplishing all three goals. The speed at which the funds are arriving is impressive, and I look forward to many more projects breaking ground very soon,” said Congressman Farr.

He was joined by Supervisor Lou Calcagno and Bruce Woolpert, C.E.O of contractor Graniterock dba Pavex of Watsonville, California, who expressed his appreciation for “the careful use of funds by Monterey County”. Mr. Woolpert also congratulated Monterey County for its engineering of this project. “Rather than providing a thin surface treatment, the County is resurfacing the roadway with 4 inches of asphalt, which is appropriate for the heavy truck traffic on this roadway,” said Mr. Woolpert.

Several photos from today’s event are also available.

The Transportation Agency for Monterey County (TAMC) is responsible for investing in regional transportation projects for Monterey County residents, businesses and visitors. The mission of TAMC is to develop and maintain a multimodal transportation system that enhances mobility, safety, access, environment quality and economic activities in Monterey County. For more information visit www.tamcmonterey.orgor call 831.775.0903.

For more information, contact:
Debbie Hale, Executive Director TAMC, or
Don Bachman, Deputy Director TAMC, 831.775.0903