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Like many rural areas, San Benito County is at a disadvantage when it must compete with urban areas for state funds on projects such as the Hwy 25 expansion. However, a potential change in the funding criteria gives local leaders hope that rural counties will have a better chance to get money in the future.
There is no cost estimate yet for the Hwy 25 project. San Benito County voters allocated about $242 million of local funds toward it through 2018’s Measure G, a 1%, 30-year sales tax that was expected to raise about $485 million for transportation projects. Measure G has generated over $20 million more than was projected in the first six years, but the project is expected to require significant state funding.
Rural communities contend that the state’s 2021 Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure (CAPTI) essentially disqualifies them from receiving state funds for these kinds of projects. The CAPTI is a document that outlines the state’s goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by prioritizing funding projects that reduce exhaust emissions, using a metric called vehicle miles traveled (VMT). Because vehicle trips in rural communities tend to be longer, they are placed at a disadvantage.
The latest version of the CAPTI, released on March 7, acknowledges the state’s preference for funding improvements based on VMT “may not be suitable for rural projects.” It states that Caltrans will analyze the VMT metric and offer guidance to address impacts for rural areas.
“Implementation of these strategies in rural areas require more nuanced guidance given the limited research,” the CAPTI states. “This action will commit Caltrans to conducting any necessary additional studies or identifying technical research that can inform guidance for rural projects to better account for projects that are unlikely to induce travel demand, in consultation with regional and local rural stakeholders.”
Hollister resident and California Transportation Commissioner Bob Tiffany said at the March 12 Council of San Benito County Governments (COG) meeting he was hopeful the state could implement changes.
“I believe, and I don’t think I’m alone in this, that there is a change in headwinds,” Tiffany said. “I think there is an opportunity for some changes to be made in terms of how VMT is addressed, particularly in rural areas.”
Hollister City Council member Rolan Resendiz, who is also a member of the COG board of directors, said it was important for the public to know about VMTs.
“There are only a few people from the public here,” he said. “We need to get this information out to the public so they understand all the points, specifically the history, specifically the issues with VMT, the issues with funding. They do not know.”
About 10 members of the public attended the meeting at the Community Foundation for San Benito County’s Epicenter building in Hollister.
At a Feb. 21 special San Benito County Board of Supervisors meeting, 17th District Assemblymember Robert Rivas, a Hollister native, called the impact of VMT on rural projects “unintended consequences” that the state is “working really hard to address.”
Route pushback
Meanwhile, local farmers continue to voice their opposition to the 2016 adopted Hwy 25 route because it runs through prime agricultural land. According to Caltrans, the route affects 497 acres of farmland compared to 657 acres if the existing route were widened.
Farmers spoke at two meetings on March 12, a Mobility Partnership meeting and the COG special meeting, urging decisionmakers to consider an alignment along San Felipe Road, saying it would affect fewer productive acres of farmland.
‘When we pave over arable farmland, which is productive farmland, we don’t get it back,” said farmer Tim Gillio. “The San Felipe Route doesn’t cover as much productive farmland.”
Joe Tonascia said farmers like himself understand there is a need for a highway but that the project needed to benefit the community. He said a San Felipe Road route would help commercial development.
“We can support our industrial side of town and create jobs,” he said. “People don’t want to be going up and down the road even if it’s a new road. They want to work close to home.”
Caltrans District 5 Director Scott Eades said it would be within the COG board’s right to stop current work and consider changing the adopted route, but it would mean adding “years and years” to the process.
“From our perspective, there’s been a lot of work that has gone into where we’re at,” he said, “but if that’s what the COG board wants to do that’s certainly within their purview.”
The Hwy 25 expansion project is currently going through the environmental review process for seven alternatives.
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