TRANSPORTATION FUNDING
Sacramento’s roads and infrastructure must be safe, sustainable and accessible to preserve our quality of life. As the oldest city in California, Sacramento has more than $10 billion in transportation infrastructure we are responsible for maintaining, including:
Our vital transportation grid requires ongoing maintenance to keep it safe and operating well for the hundreds of thousands of cars, trucks, buses, bicycles and pedestrians that use it daily. As funding allows, the City continuously has improvement projects either underway or in the planning stages to maintain safety and efficient operations. These projects can range from roadway rehabilitation and upgrades to complete streets and active transportation projects.
OUR TRANSPORTATION PRIORITIES
FUNDING SACRAMENTO TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS
Primary funding sources for transportation services and facilities come from dedicated transportation or special use funds. This funding is comprised of outside state and federal funds such as the City’s allocation of state gas tax and new revenue from the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017 also known as Senate Bill 1 or SB 1, as well as the City’s portion of the half cent county-wide transportation sales tax. Most funding revenues eligible for operations and maintenance pay for the day-to-day operations of filling potholes, operating traffic signals, repairing equipment and structures as well as responding to emergencies. SB 1 makes up a significant portion of the City’s operations and maintenance budget.
ABOUT SB 1
SB 1, approved by the California Legislature and the Governor in April 2017, establishes fuel taxes and vehicle fees allocated directly to counties and cities for local road maintenance, safety improvements and complete street improvements including facilities for bicycles and pedestrians. SB 1 provides transportation investments in every community. Prior to the passage of SB 1, the statewide transportation funding had not been increased since 1993. Inflation and improved fuel efficiency in automobiles has resulted in a loss of about half of the gas tax spending power. In the four years prior to SB 1, the City's actual gas tax revenues dropped nearly forty percent. From November 1, 2017 to June 30, 2019, the City has estimated and programmed about $12 million in funding from the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account. Through SB 1, transportation funding to the City is received through different programs. Some funding is allocated by a formula based on population and other factors, which is part of the Local Partnership Program that rewards communities with local transportation sales tax measures. Historically, the gas tax allocated by formula has been the City’s largest funding source for transportation maintenance. In addition, anticipated funding from SB 1 was used to augment and create new competitive grant programs.
PLANNED SB 1 INVESTMENTS
SB 1 invests more than $8 million annually in Sacramento for maintenance, repair and safety improvements on local streets and roads, bridges, tunnels and overpasses. In addition to efficiency of operations and maintenance, the City is focused on innovative road rehabilitation, active transportation, safety and accessibility improvements. Since November 2017, the City has used its annual SB 1 allocation for preventative maintenance and complete streets projects.
Learn more about all of the projects that will be backlogged without SB 1 funding.
THE IMPORTANCE OF SB 1 FUNDING
With SB 1 funding, the City has commitments for more than $30 million in formula and competitive grant revenue over the next two years. Without SB 1 funding, the City will only be able to do basic operations, emergency roadway repairs, and build a limited number of new facilities. Sacramento’s road repair backlog will grow from $179 million today to $508 million in ten years.
Funding allows us to accelerate the delivery of projects that have been delayed for so long. The City’s objectives are to maintain roads and address small problems immediately as delays cause problems to worsen, which increases costs. SB 1 funding allows the City to catch up on years of unfunded maintenance needs which have plagued our roadways, cost drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists for years. If transportation funding decreases, the City faces new challenges in maintaining and responding to problems which impact our entire community.
We strive to provide vital transportation services in your community.
RESOURCES