Prop. 111’s Passage Clears Project Roadblock : Funds: Work connecting the Moorpark and Simi Valley freeways, a 6-year-old plan, could begin this year.

Voter approval of a hike in the state gasoline tax sets the stage for Ventura County to receive more than $200 million over the next 10 years for long-delayed road construction, state and county officials said Thursday.

The passage of Proposition 111 means that one such county project--connecting the Simi Valley and Moorpark freeways--could begin within the next few months, officials said.

“If I had to guess, it would probably be under construction by the end of the year or by early 1991,” said Jack Hallin, director of construction and maintenance projects in Ventura County for the state Department of Transportation.

Hallin said that plans for the projected $50-million freeway link are complete and that state transportation officials are preparing to solicit bids for the project.

The proposal to connect the two freeways, which are separated by about two miles of hillside in Moorpark, has been in the planning stages for nearly six years and is one of several priority projects in the county that will be funded in part by the new tax.

Ventura County voters narrowly approved the gas tax increase in Tuesday’s election, with 54,956 voting in favor and 51,676 opposing it, a margin of 51.5% to 48.5%. Statewide, the measure was passed by a margin of 52% to 48%.

Under Proposition 111, the state gas and diesel tax will increase by five cents a gallon for one year beginning Aug. 1, then go up by a penny a year for the next four years, reaching nine cents a gallon in 1995. The measure is expected to generate an estimated $18.5 billion for statewide transportation projects over the next 10 years.

Ventura County will receive about $20 million a year for new construction projects, Hallin said.

Some high-priority projects in the county that will benefit from Proposition 111 funds include the widening of the Saticoy Bridge, estimated to cost $15.7 million; the widening of California 126 from Fillmore to the Los Angeles County line at a cost of $27.3 million, and the widening of California 118 from Moorpark to Oxnard at a cost of $40 million.

Despite the approval of Proposition 111, Ventura County voters may be asked in the fall to vote for a half-cent sales tax increase to supplement the county’s funds for construction and repair of local streets.

The Ventura County Transportation Commission will consider today whether to support placing the measure on the November ballot, said Commissioner Eloise Brown.

The increased sales tax would generate an estimated $25 million per year for the next 20 years for local transportation projects.

If approved by the majority of the county’s 10 cities and the County Board of Supervisors, the measure will be placed on the ballot in the fall, Brown said.

She conceded that voters might be reluctant to approve another tax increase after the passage of Proposition 111. But she said that because about $2 billion of the new tax funds will be distributed to those counties that can come up with matching funds, it may be in the best interest of county voters to support the sales tax increase.

“I would very likely vote for it myself because the impact is very small,” Brown said. “I see a very real need for additional funding.”

Vicky Howard, who is also a member of the Transportation Commission, said that while she is pleased that Proposition 111 passed, she had not made up her mind whether to support the proposal for an increased sales tax.