SLO County News BlogGolf, Wine, Real Estate, Business & Travel NewsFederal Funds for SLO RoadsSaturday, July 30, 2005San Luis Obispo County's share of a massive federal transportation bill approved by Congress on Friday is more than $35 million.The money would help pay for widening a highway in the North County and a bridge in the South County, as well as help build a bike path in San Luis Obispo and extend a boardwalk in Pismo Beach. The total was included in the $286.4 billion transportation bill passed by the the House of Representatives and the Senate on Friday. It still needs to be signed by President Bush to become law. "It's phenomenal news for our county," Ron De Carli, executive director of the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments said. "We don't receive sufficient transportation money to meet the needs of our region." The bulk of the local share -- $33.4 million -- would go toward widening Highway 46 East to four lanes from the intersection of Airport Road east of Paso Robles to the rest stop near Shandon. The money is for construction, which De Carli said is set to begin in July 2007. De Carli said Thomas secured an additional $92 million to widen Highway 46 East to four lanes from the San Luis Obispo County line to Highway 5 near Lost Hills. The bill also includes $2.7 million to widen Highway 101's Santa Maria River Bridge near the border of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties. This would pay for final engineering and design phases, De Carli said. Money for the actual construction has not been allocated. The bill also includes $320,000 for the construction of the Bob Jones bike path from Avila Beach to San Luis Obispo. There is also $240,000 in the bill to pay for about three-fourths of the expansion of the Pismo Beach Promenade northward along the beach, similar to the section south of the pier. Construction is scheduled to begin after Labor Day. Read entire article at: Highway 46 East could get $33 million The Tribune, Jeff Ballinger To see more of The Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to www.sanluisobispo.com. (c) 2005, The Tribune, San Luis Obispo, Calif. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. Read More
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