As reported in CalMatters, California is facing $5 billion in budget shortfalls for public transportation agencies over five years. Despite these shortfalls, planned capital spending has increased by two percent for the five top multi-modal transportation agencies when comparing the current (starting 2024) and prior (starting 2023) plans.
FirmoGraphs tracks the Capital Improvement Plans (CIPs) for 1000s of U.S. public agencies. In this article, we look at five of the largest multi-modal California public transportation agencies. The following table highlights this two-year trend for increased planned capital spending. Note that the numbers and project values mentioned are based on the starting year of CIP, which spans multiple years. The 2023 values are from the 2023 CIPs, and the 2024 values are from the 2024 CIPs.
Table: 2023 and 2024 Capital Project Count and Value of Five California Public Transportation Agencies. Source: FirmoGraphs
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
In the CIP covering the 2024 fiscal year, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, branded as Metro, detailed plans to spend approximately $2.7 billion on capital improvement projects, a decrease of 18% from $3.3 billion in its previous 2023 CIP. The current CIP has 241 projects, compared to 203 in the prior CIP.
The current CIP contains seven projects valued at over $100 million and four projects valued at over $50 million. Two of the most significant projects include the construction of Sections 3 and 1 of the D Line (Purple), valued at $344 million and $325 million, respectively.
Additional vital transportation projects in the current CIP are the construction of the East San Fernando Valley Light Rail ($284 million), Section 2 of the D Line (Purple) ($225 million), L Line (Gold) Foothill Extension 2B ($210 million), Airport Metro Connector ($175 million), and Division 20 Portal Widening & Turnback Facility ($139 million).
Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District
The Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District announced its plan to allocate more than $1.4 billion in capital spending towards its 2024-2033 CIP. This represents a 6% increase from the previous CIP for the fiscal year 2023-2032, with a budget of over $1.3 billion.
The current CIP aims to finance 85 transportation projects, a decrease from the 101 projects funded in the previous cycle. The largest single project is the Seismic Phase IIIB Construction, valued at $870 million. Other noteworthy projects included in the current plan are ZEB Over-the-Road (OTR) Coaches ($79 million), the construction of Suicide Deterrent ($55 million), Replace Conventional Over-the-Road (OTR) Coaches ($35 million), DI ZEB Infrastructure ($34 million), and Permanent Toll Collection Gantry & Pavement Rehab ($30 million).
Sacramento Regional Transit District
In its current CIP covering the 2024 fiscal year, Sacramento Regional Transit District planned to spend more than $1 billion on capital improvement projects, an increase of 48% from $680 million in the 2023 CIP. The current CIP features 80 funded projects compared to 93 in its prior CIP.
The Downtown/Riverfront Streetcar Project is the most significant undertaking of the current CIP and is valued at $148 million. Other noteworthy transportation projects include the South Area Bus Maintenance Facility ($100 million), Gold Line Light Rail Station Low Floor Conversion ($98 million), LR Modern 15 Min Service to Folsom (Side Track) ($97 million), Sacramento Valley Double Tracking/MLS Station/Tail Track ($96 million), and Blue Line Light Rail Station Low Floor Conversion ($90 million).
San Diego Metropolitan Transit System
The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) plans to spend approximately $752 million in the CIP covering the 2024-2028 fiscal years on 79 capital improvement projects, an increase of 33% from $564 million on 83 transportation projects in its 2023-2027 CIP.
Most of the increased budget will go towards the Clean Transit Advancement Campus, dedicated to electric bus charging for ultimate 100% zero-emission bus operation. The project requires 10-12 acres to accommodate up to 250 buses, costing $262 million.
Other noteworthy transportation projects in the current CIP include the SD100 Replacement ($53 million), the Substation Replacement ($49 million), the SD7 Replacement ($32 million), the San Ysidro Transit Center ($30 million), and the Overhead Catenary System ($20 million).
Orange County Transportation Authority
In the CIP covering the 2024 fiscal year, Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) detailed plans to spend nearly $548 million in capital spending, an increase of 26% from $435 million in its 2023 CIP. The current CIP has 114 projects, as compared to 83 projects in its prior CIP.
The current CIP contains seven projects valued at over $20 million. One of the most significant projects in the current CIP is the SR-55 Improvements Design Services, valued at $66 million. The project will add one general-purpose lane and a second high occupancy vehicle lane in both directions of SR-55 between the Route 55/405 separation in Irvine to the Route 5/55 separation in Tustin in the cities of Santa Ana, Tustin, And Irvine.
Other vital transportation projects in the current CIP are the construction of the Transit Security & Operations Center ($53 million), I-5 Widening ($36 million), Design-Build Contract ($29 million), and Right-of-Way ($20 million).
How FirmoGraphs Can Help
FirmoGraphs collects and maintains a database of CIPs and STIPs containing 100,000s projects. These are categorized by state, business area, and funding, making it easy for contractors to find projects they can bid on. Feel free to request a meeting to view our capital planning database live in our business intelligence tool.
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