Newsom decides States new Gas tax won’t be for highways after all

Bendintheriver said:

GDS said:

Construction projects dot Highway 99 in the Valley -- from improvements to bridges and overpasses funded by almost 18 cents a gallon in gas taxes added since November 2017, to an expansion in Madera County between Avenues 12 and 17.

But another expansion between 12 and 7 is one of two Valley projects on which the state transportation agency is hitting the brakes.

The Caltrans ITIP budget sets aside about one-tenth of its 2020 total, $61 million, for rail and other projects fitting into the executive order, which also calls for using discretionary transportation money to support housing close to available jobs, and helping lower income people pay for any increases in transportation costs.

But CalSTA secretary David Kim, whose agency includes Caltrans, told Action News it's not SB-1 gas tax money. Their more than $600 million ITIP budget includes about $400 million for roads. It gets an estimated $200 million from SB-1 revenue, according to Patterson's office. But Caltrans says the decision to delay Valley projects came before the executive order.

Count scotti as one who likes being lied to by his leaders.