$5.4 Billion OKd for Road and Rail Projects : Transportation: The bulk of the money will go to programs designed to unclog freeways and induce commuters to use rapid transit in urban areas.

Doling out the rewards of an increased gasoline tax, the California Transportation Commission on Wednesday approved $5.4 billion in new road and rail projects designed to unclog streets and freeways and nudge motorists out of their cars and into mass transit.

With few exceptions the gubernatorial commission followed the recommendations of its staff in voting to give the bulk of the money to projects in urban areas like Los Angeles County where freeway congestion has become as much of a daily irritant as smog and crime.

In the state’s population centers, the commission allotted as much money for commuter, urban and intercity rail projects as it did for road programs. Los Angeles County alone was slated to get $1.4 billion in rail projects. “This year’s program is a very heavy rail program. We’ve never had anything like it before,” said Peter Hathaway, the commission’s deputy director for finance and highways.

The rail projects included $500 million to help extend Metro Rail from the North Hollywood station to Sepulveda Boulevard in Van Nuys and $123 million for computer rail improvements for lines from Los Angeles to San Bernardino, Los Angeles to Ventura and from Fullerton to Redondo Junction. Another $105 million was alloted for construction of a light rail line from Norwalk-El Segundo to Westchester via Los Angeles International Airport and $350 million to construct a 13.6-mile light rail line from Sierra Madre Villa in eastern Pasadena to Union Station.

Both road and rail projects were spread out over seven years in a State Transportation Improvement Program, which set a tentative date for construction to begin and the total amount the state was willing to devote to each project. Even though the dollars for each project stacked up into the millions, few were given full funding. In most cases, commissioners expect local officials either to come back in later years for more money or to match the state dollars with local dollars.

While money for the projects came from a variety of revenue sources, a gasoline tax increase and a $1-billion bond issue for rail transit approved by the voters in June enabled the commissioners to endorse hundreds of projects that had been delayed for years because of lack of funds. Motorists began paying a 5-cent-a-gallon gasoline tax increase Aug 1. The tax will go up another penny each January for the next four years.

“This is a milestone State Transportation Improvement Program because there is finally some money,” said Sen. Quentin Kopp (I-San Francisco), chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee.

Commissioners offered one note of caution, however, pointing out that their funding program counted on voters approving two more $1-billion bond issues for rail transit. If the two issues are either voted down or withdrawn from the ballot, Hathaway said, there would have to be drastic cuts in the rail transit program.

While projects costing hundreds of millions of dollars easily won commission approval, it was one of the smallest projects--$5 million to begin purchasing right-of-way for closing the gap in the Long Beach Freeway--that drew the most controversy. Although the money moves the project forward, no specific route has been designated. That awaits an environmental impact study.

Antonio Rossmann, an attorney for South Pasadena, appealed to the commission to delete the project--arguing that the money could be better used for other, more popular, road programs. For decades South Pasadena officials have objected to the construction of a freeway through their city.

Calling the project a “casualty” of years of controversy, Commissioner Bruce Nestande urged the panel to abandon it. Nestande was outvoted, however, after Commissioner Joe Levy called the project “the most important in the state of California.”

The only matter left unresolved by Wednesday’s vote was an attempt by the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission to add more projects. Commissioners said they would consider approving the additional projects if the local officials would agree to take funds from other projects to pay for them.

Among those the Los Angeles officials wanted included in the program were projects to widen California 126 through Santa Clarita and to widen the intersection and replace a railroad crossing at Rosecrans Boulevard and Aviation Boulevard.