OCTA Outlines Budget For Repairs, Projects
O.C. Register
Orange County drivers should see $153 million in freeway work in the coming year, along with smaller projects aimed at loosening up surface-street traffic, under a transportation budget approved Monday.
That budget adds up to $1.26 billion in bus and train service, signal-synchronization efforts, new rail crossings and road work targeting problems as small as potholes and as large as the morning crawl on the 91. The Orange County Transportation Authority approved the budget Monday with no opposition but plenty of debate.
That's due to one expense marked “Metrolink.” The county helps pay to run the commuter trains and has raised alarms about financial mismanagement and accounting irregularities at the regional rail authority. Auditors concluded earlier this year that Metrolink's books were in such shoddy condition it might not even detect fraud.
Metrolink wanted Orange County to increase its contribution by $800,000, but OCTA directors balked – in part because the rail agency is also raising fares and talking about giving out merit raises. They kept Orange County's share at $19.9 million, the same as last year, with $800,000 more set aside but available only if Metrolink undertakes a deeper forensic audit of its finances.
“We want to actually know where our money is,” said OCTA Director Michael Hennessey, who represents Orange County on the Metrolink board.
Also in the OCTA budget:
$153 million in freeway projects that include widening the westbound 91 from the 55 to Tustin Avenue; extending carpool lanes on I-5 from San Juan Creek Road to Avenida Pico; and a continuous-access carpool lane project on I-405.
$149 million for bridges to get car traffic over or under train tracks. The planned crossings are in Anaheim, Fullerton and Placentia, at Raymond Avenue, State College Boulevard, Placentia Avenue, Kraemer Boulevard, Orangethorpe Avenue, Tustin Avenue and Lakeview Avenue.
$49 million for local road projects, which can range from fixing potholes to improving intersections. The budget also has $14 million for synchronizing traffic lights and $50.2 million for projects aimed at relieving surface-street congestion.
$281 million for bus service. That will add about 24,000 hours of service to the bus system, a small increase to the 1.2 million total hours the buses already run. It will add an additional 31,000 hours in special limited-stop service along three heavily traveled routes.
$200 million for rail improvements, which include construction of a Metrolink Station in Placentia. The money also will pay for work on the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center, better known as ARTIC and touted by city leaders as Orange County's Grand Central Station. An additional $14 million is budgeted for developing streetcar projects in Anaheim and Santa Ana.
The overall budget approved Monday raises OCTA spending by 17 percent. The biggest drivers of that increase include outside services like engineering, new buses and other equipment purchases, freeway work and local transportation projects. Salaries and benefits add up to $155 million, an increase of about 5 percent mostly due to merit raises and the hiring of more bus drivers.
OCTA 2013-2014 Budget Increases Bus Service, Funds Measure M Projects
Orange County Breeze
The Orange County Transportation Authority board of directors will consider adopting a $1.26 billion budget for the coming year during its meeting on Monday.
OCTA Focuses On Long-Range Plan For Transportation
Voice of O.C.
The effort was discussed at Monday's meeting of the Orange County Transportation Authority board of directors, where agency staff noted the plan's crucial role in obtaining funds for large-scale transportation projects.
OCTA Withholds Money From Metrolink
Voice of O.C.
The Orange County Transportation Authority Board of Directors decided Monday to wait on increasing the agency's subsidy of Metrolink – which has come under heavy scrutiny because of basic accounting failures -- until the board discusses a forensic audit of the rail authority.
Major Freeway Closures Return Nightly Through Saturday Morning
Los Alamitos Patch
Southbound I-405 Freeway Closed from Studebaker Rd. to Bolsa Chica Rd. Closed from 11 PM to 5 AM, nightly, Monday through Friday.
Event Permit Request Before Westminster Council
Garden Grove Journal (June 10)
Also on the agenda is a presentation from the Orange County Transportation Authority on the West County Connectors, which involves transition roads, bridges and ramps connected to the Garden Grove (22) and San Diego (405) freeways.
