DBE Compliance News

Archive for September, 2011

Caltrans issued a press release on September 1, 2011:

$23 Billion in California Transportation Projects Could ‘Grind to a Halt’ Without New Federal Transportation Bill

SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) today announced that Malcolm Dougherty, Acting Caltrans Director, has sent a letter urging Congress to swiftly pass legislation that will reauthorize transportation funding and protect $23 billion in active state and local transportation projects.

Without an extension or reauthorization, the department will be unable to continue existing transportation projects across the state. In the attached letter to the California congressional delegation, Acting Director Dougherty states that without continued federal funding, thousands of active state and local transportation projects valued at
$23 billion would grind to a halt within weeks of the end of the Federal Fiscal Year (September 30).

The current surface transportation legislation, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), expired in 2009. Congress has extended the Act seven times, but the latest extension expires on September 30. The federal government currently provides about $3.4 billion per year for transportation projects across the state.

To read the Acting Director’s letter to the California Congressional Delegation, please visit: http://www.dot.ca.gov/docs/CaltransDirectortoCalCongress_29August2011_FINAL.pdf