Monterey County gets more than $13 million for transportation projects

Monterey County is getting more than $13 million in funding for four transportation projects.

The money was awarded at a meeting of the California Transportation Commission earlier this month.

Three of the projects secured grant funding from the highly competitive Active Transportation Program, which supports bicycle, pedestrian, and Safe Routes to Schools projects.

The county is set to receive $913,000 for the Castroville Bicycle and Pedestrian Path and Railroad Crossing project, which will help residents safely cross the Union Pacific tracks between Castroville and North Monterey County High School.

Another $6.5 million will go toward the North Fremont Bike and Pedestrian Access and Safety Improvements project.

The Monterey County Department of Health, partnered with the Transportation Agency for Monterey County, was awarded $4.7 million for the Via Salinas Valley project to develop active transportation plans for the Salinas Valley cities focusing on bicycle, pedestrian, and transit connectivity to places of employment and recreation, as well as safe routes to school for disadvantaged communities.

The California Transportation Commission also programmed $1.7 million in Trade Corridor Improvement Funds to the U.S. 101 Sanborn Road project. This city of Salinas-sponsored project is aimed at helping the trucks that travel this intersection each day by improving traffic flow and reducing backups.