April 17, 2017 – Governor Brown’s transportation funding package (SB-1 Beall) cleared the Legislature late last week and will result in increased funding for city and county roads statewide. Nevada County expects to receive $3.8 million per year, increasing the available funding for Road Maintenance and Improvement activities.
Although Nevada County has continuously rated as one of the top counties in the California Department of Transportation’s Road Pavement Condition Index, funding for roads has declined due to low gas prices and an increase of hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles on the road. This decrease in funding has caused pavement conditions to deteriorate across the State, and Nevada County has seen a similar decline from “Good” in 2014 to “At Risk” in 2016, although we continue to rank among the best pavement conditions in the State. Increased funding from SB-1 will allow Nevada County to improve our current road conditions and continue to provide safe transportation for our community.
As a result of this package, counties will also be able to access grant funding from active transportation, congested corridors, and goods movement programs funded by SB-1, which also includes significant ongoing funding for transit services and state highway maintenance.