$13.4-Billion Caltrans Proposal Would Add 120 Highway Miles

The state Department of Transportation proposed a $13.4-billion, five-year building and maintenance plan Thursday that envisions construction of about 120 miles of new highway. But a spokesman said the state might not have the money to pay for all of the program.

Gene Berthelsen of Caltrans said the plan, which outlines the department’s goals for the five-year period that starts July 1, has a funding shortfall of about $770 million.

Berthelsen said potential revenue sources do not include a state tax increase, which is opposed by Gov. George Deukmejian.

“We’re looking at ways to get everything we can out of the federal government,” Berthelsen said.

He said some of the money might have to come from locally approved sales tax increases or private funds “where a private development is reaping benefits of a highway facility.”

Sen. John Foran (D-San Francisco) has proposed boosting the state gasoline tax from 9 cents to 14 cents a gallon starting in 1987.

The Caltrans plan calls for spending $4.9 billion on new highways, $2.6 billion on maintenance and operations, $1.6 billion on rehabilitation and safety projects and $1.2 billion on local streets and roads.

Mass transportation would get $530 million. The rest of the program covers a variety of other projects, including toll bridges.

The plan covers 1,600 projects, including construction of the final phases of the Century Freeway in Los Angeles, the John T. Knox Freeway in Richmond, the Stockton Crosstown Freeway, the Santa Barbara Crosstown Freeway, the Auburn Freeway and the Roseville Bypass near Sacramento.

It also includes construction of parts of the Harbor Freeway north of Interstate 405 in Los Angeles.

The department proposes a new five-year plan every year. The plan, called the State Transportation Improvement Program, is submitted to the state Transportation Commission, which approves a final version during the summer.