State Transit Query Fuels Speculation

Try this for pressure: three hours to put together a wish list of transportation projects for Orange County.

The reason for the rush? A Monday morning request from Caltrans for a list of priority needs--presumably prompted by Gov. Gray Davis’ expressed desire to use some of the budget surplus to kick-start such projects.

By noon Feb. 7, Orange County transportation officials had nearly $400 million of requests to send the state agency, culled from a standing list of projects that are slated to be underway at some point in the future.

“Typically, we’d like to be more deliberative,” said Orange County Transportation Authority spokesman Bill Hodge. “But they are all good projects. They are needed projects.”

Topping the list for Orange County is $250 million for the Garden Grove Freeway widening--which would complete the county’s extensive carpool lane system.

Also on the list:

* A $20-million connector for the interchange of the Orange and Garden Grove freeways. Planners hope a direct connection will fix weaving and merging problems near the City Drive in Orange.

* A Santa Ana Freeway improvement project that would extend carpool lanes from Beach Boulevard north to the Los Angeles County line, filling in the gap that will be left when the $1-billion Santa Ana Freeway widening is completed late this year. The estimated cost is $20 million.

* $50 million to separate train tracks from street-level traffic at Jeffrey Road in Irvine and Red Hill Avenue in Tustin.

* A $10-million parking structure at the Irvine Transportation Center to deal with overflow parking.

* An additional $4 million for the Buena Park Metrolink station, which already has $6 million budgeted toward its completion.

* Preliminary engineering for the CenterLine, the proposed 27-mile light rail system for Orange County. Transit officials are asking for $12 million to $15 million, which would go to funding design work for about 30% of the proposed route.

* $25 million for the conversion of an Anaheim bus base to liquefied natural gas and the purchase of more buses.

Calls from Caltrans requesting such lists went out statewide the week before last to local transportation planning agencies. Caltrans wanted a list of projects doable in the short term, not “pie in the sky,” officials said.

Although local officials say they aren’t exactly sure what will become of the requests, the hope is some of the state’s multibillion-dollar budget surplus will be used to fast-forward much-needed road improvements.

“The speculation has been the governor is trying to put together some sort of proposal within this 90-day window he talked about in his budget,” Hodge said.

Last month, Davis responded to criticism that his budget for transportation was lacking by promising to issue within three months a full plan for improving California’s roads. The governor’s $88.1-billion budget included $7.5 billion for roads and transit. Over the next decade, Davis said, California will spend at least $75 billion on transportation. Although critics have charged those funds are available only by borrowing against future tax collections, Davis has defended his plan.

Caltrans spokesman Jim Drago said his agency made a “call to arms” in an effort to pinpoint needed transportation improvements that could be acted on quickly.

“Our direction has been to be more responsive to the public,” he said. “We’re trying to get going earlier to develop the list of candidate projects and get going on what’s out there.”

It was up to the local areas to name their priorities, Drago said.

In Riverside County, for example, transit officials said their top pick was to have the state buy out the 91 Express Lanes, which have been the focus of much furor since the attempted sale of the private toll lanes to a nonprofit group of businessmen fell apart late last year.

Orange County officials said the 91 Express Lanes weren’t on their radar.

“That’s a completed project,” said Dean Delgado, the OCTA’s principal transportation analyst. “We were more interested in getting new projects built.”

Delgado said the scramble will have been worth it if any unexpected funds make their way to county projects. Though all projects on the list are scheduled to be funded at some point, any bonus money would make it possible to do more work sooner.

“We want to make sure Orange County gets its fair share,” he said. “We’re the third most populous county in the state, and we want to make sure if things are distributed, we’re there waiting in the wings.”

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Wish List

The Orange County Transportation Authority scrambled last week to put together a list of top transportation needs in the county, after a request came from Caltrans. Identified locally were nearly $400 million in projects:

1. Garden Grove Freeway carpool lane widening: $250 million

2. Orange Freeway/Garden Grove Freeway connector: $20 million

3. Santa Ana Freeway from Beach Boulevard to the Los Angeles County line: $20 million

4. Jeffrey Road/Red Hill Metrolink grade separations: $25 million each

5. Irvine transportation center parking : $10 million

6. Buena Park Metrolink Station ($6 million already budgeted): $4 million

7. CenterLine preliminary engineering: $12-$15 million

8. Liquefied Natural Gas bus fleet conversion, more buses: $25 million

Source: OCTA