Gas tax is needed to meet key freeway projects, California emissions goals, bipartisan group says

A bipartisan group of elected officials gathered in Diamond Bar Wednesday to argue for continuation of gas tax and vehicle license fee hikes imposed by state lawmakers last year, saying the monies from SB 1 are earmarked for key freeway and light-rail extension projects that would be left undone without the extra dollars.

If voters were to approve Proposition 6, a Nov. 6 ballot initiative that repeals the 12-cent per gallon tax on gasoline and 20-cent tax per gallon on diesel fuel, then completion of the 57-60 Freeway project, the 12.3-mile Gold Line Foothill extension from Glendora to Montclair, the closure of the Route 71 gap in Pomona (near Chino) and two road-train underpasses would not get built or would be delayed, said Mark Christoffels, chief engineer of the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments, which oversees the Alameda Corridor-East rail-crossing agency.

While Los Angeles County may be less affected because it can rely mostly on monies from a 40-year, $120 billion transportation-targeted Measure M overwhelmingly passed by voters two years ago, the Inland Empire projects are more reliant on the $5 billion SB 1 funds next year and $52.4 billion over the next decade, he indicated.

For just those five projects, SB 1 would add $434 million, enabling construction agencies to complete the five projects and clear away traffic, lessen air pollution from idling vehicles and reduce greenhouse gases.

No help from Trump administration

Christoffels said in the past, road, freeway and new passenger rail projects were granted federal funds to offset the costs. But under the Trump administration, that has not happened.

“We have been aggressively trying to get federal money to close that last gap (in project funding) but under the current administration, California keeps getting zeroed out in terms of dollars to us,” he said.

Last year, ACE teamed up with the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles in an effort to land federal transportation dollars to improve the 60, 10, 210, and other truck-heavy freeways carrying goods from the two ports to points east, and fund other transportation improvements related to goods movement. That effort failed, he said.

“I’ll let you interpret the politics behind that,” he said during an interview before the press conference held at the Diamond Bar Holiday Inn.

Freeway improvements

While “No on Prop. 6” TV ads stress the need to fix bridges and potholes, they are silent on funding freeway improvements and trains near the eastern border of Los Angeles County.

SB 1 would fund $22 million of a $282 million “chokepoint relief” project in the conjoined stretch of the 57-60 freeways in Diamond Bar, bordering San Bernardino and Orange Counties and rated the most congested freight corridor in the West, said Rep. Judy Chu, D-Pasadena.

Likewise, the $1.4 billion Glendora-to-Montclair Gold Line extension, already underway, needs $290 million from SB 1 to get it across the county line, because Measure M can’t be used outside LA County.

“We are here to let the public understand that without these monies we can’t complete a lot of these projects. And the federal government has not moved to help us alleviate this congestion,” said LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis.

Opposition

Those pushing for a repeal say Californians already pay too much in taxes. They say the state can use current funds to repair roads and bridges and untangle dangerous freeway interchanges.

The “Yes on 6” website called SB 1 “a blank check tax hike” that will cost the typical family of four $779.28 per year.

Duarte Mayor and Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) board member John Fasana said he is a Republican who opposes Prop. 6.

“I am a Republican. And this is a cynical effort by the national Republican party to benefit themselves,” he said.

Fasana believes the measure was placed on the ballot to bring Republican voters to the polls in an effort to blunt what many pollsters say could be a “blue wave” of congressional seats turning from Republican to Democratic in California.

Projects and costs

Grade separation: Montebello Boulevard at Olympic Boulevard. Cost: $128.6 million; SB 1: $49 million

Grade separation: Turnbull Canyon Road (City of Industry). Cost: $86.2 million; SB 1: $29 million

57/60 Freeways confluence/chokepoint relief program. Cost: $288.6 million; SB 1: $22 million

71 Freeway gap/highway to freeway conversion from 10 to 60 freeways. Cost: $175.5 million; SB 1: $44 million

Gold Line Light Rail Extension Glendora to Montclair. Cost: $1.4 billion; SB 1: $290 million