Sacramento - Assemblymember Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) sent the following letter to the California Transportation Commission to fight for two much needed projects within the district:

1) Marin-Sonoma Narrows on Highway 101 Segment B   2) 580 / 101 north bound auxiliary lane

February 22, 2007

Ms. Marian Bergeson
California Transportation Commission
1120 N Street
Sacramento, CA 95814

 Dear Chairperson Bergeson and Members of the Commission:

 The California Transportation Commission (CTC) has the difficult job of choosing among many critical projects that will be funded through the $4.5 billion Corridor Mobility Improvement Account (CMIA). With more than $11 billion in project proposals competing for this $4.5 billion fund the CTC must determine the priority of projects to fund.  This unfortunately leaves other equally important projects without the resources to keep pace with local needs and improve highway infrastructure to address the substantial increase in the use of our freeways by residents, commuters, businesses, and visitors.

There are significant projects omitted from the CTC staff’s list of projects recommended for funding that I believe should be reconsidered.

Omitted from the list of projects recommended by the CTC staff are several high-priority projects within the bay area which the Commission should consider. Among those projects that were omitted were the Marin-Sonoma Narrows on Highway 101 Segment B, and the 580 / 101 north bound auxiliary lane.  These are routes that suffer from major congestion and the CTC now has a unique opportunity to help fix these decades-old problems.   

I urge you to reconsider these recommended projects on the CalTrans list – many of them are essential to achieving the performance objectives of Proposition 1B in terms of reduced congestion and improved connectivity and respond to the long neglected congestion relief needs of the North Bay. I look forward to the discussion that will take place between now and the final selection of projects on February 28.


Sincerely,
JARED HUFFMAN
Assemblymember, 6th District