Council delegation lobbies in D.C. for local projects

The Tracy City Council is part of a contingent of local government officials that traveled to Washington D.C. this week to lobby for federal funding to support local infrastructure.

The San Joaquin Council of Governments hosts the annual One Voice trip, where officials from around the county will advocate for eight projects in the county, including a new interchange at Patterson Pass Road and Interstate 580, and a realignment of Grant Line Road, which will direct traffic from Tracy’s Northeast Industrial Area away from the town of Banta, and directly to 11th Street on the way toward Interstate 5.

The local delegation includes Tracy Mayor Nancy Young and council members Dan Arriola, Mateo Bedolla and Dan Evans. Mayor Pro Tem Eleassia Davis did not make the trip. Young, who has been on the Tracy City Council since 2012, said this is her ninth One Voice trip.

Young said it’s a chance to meet federal legislators and department heads who would have an influence on funding for local projects. The trip included visits to Rep. Josh Harder’s (D-Tracy) office, California Senator Dianne Feinstein’s office and the White House, plus the headquarters of other agencies that could influence allocation of federal money.

She added that a large delegation, about 70 people in this case, advocating for select projects is more effective than each local jurisdiction lobbying on its own.

“It’s powerful when you have a room full of people who are all here for the same thing,” Young said. She added that it’s a chance for local officials to learn about decision-making, consensus-building, and strategies for pursuing federal money, such as staying focused on pursuing grants beyond just making applications and waiting for answers.

“There were nuggets for me,” she said. “When I first came here a lot of information came at me. Now I’m able to take pieces of things that are most relevant.”

SJCOG also sent out a statement on what it hopes local officials will accomplish during the trip.

“This is a great opportunity for us to sit down face-to-face with the people who make the decisions on funding for infrastructure improvements, such as the State Route 99/120 Interchange in Manteca,” said Rickman, who is the chairman of the SJCOG board and also spent the week in Washington D.C.

“Those thoughtful conversations in One Voice meetings mean our federal lawmakers and officials will remember us and our projects when it comes time to actually make those decisions.”

SJCOG credits last year’s trip with helping secure $9 million in federal funding, including $5 million for the State Route 99/120 Interchange Project; $2.5 million for San Joaquin County’s Grant Line Road Corridor Improvement Project; and $1.5 for the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission (SJRRC) and its partners in creating The Rail Academy of Central California (TRACC).

Young noted that previous One Voice trips also helped secure funding to rebuild the 11th Street overpass on the east side of town.

During its March meeting the SJCOG Board of Directors approved eight projects for advocacy, including a diverging diamond interchange at Interstate 580 and Patterson Pass Road, similar to the interchange along Highway 120 at Union Road in Manteca.

The interchange would provide access to the Prologis International Park of Commerce and other logistics centers next to Interstate 580, which leads directly to the Bay Area to the west and also connects with Interstate 5.

The city expects the project to cost $54.3 million, with two state Trade Corridor Enhancement Program grants totaling $24.9 million already awarded. The city hopes that the federal government could provide another $24 million.

If all of the funding is in place this year the city could start the project in the fall and complete it by spring of 2025.

The Grant Line Road Realignment Project, with San Joaquin County as the lead agency, will create a new 1.65-mile stretch of roadway that will turn south of the current alignment of Grant Line Road just west of Banta Road, run south of Banta, and connect with a new roundabout intersection at 11th Street and Bird Road.

The county expects that to be a $38.7 million project, with construction likely to begin in June 2025.

Other projects on SJCOG’s advocacy list for this week included:

• SJCOG’s State Route 99/120 Connector Project Phase 1B.

• Manteca’s State Route 120/Airport Way Diverging Diamond Interchange Project.

• Ripon’s Altamont Corridor Express Station.

• Stockton and the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission’s Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard Rail and Roadway Reconstruction.

• San Joaquin Regional Transit District’s purchase of five hybrid electric buses.

• Port of Stockton’s Rail Bridge Replacement Project.

Among the potential funding sources for the projects is the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, signed by President Joe Biden in November 2021. SJCOG reports that it is the largest-ever investment in broadband, rail and transit, clean energy and water. The law funds more than 350 programs across more than a dozen federal departments and agencies.

• Contact Bob Brownne at brownne@tracypress.com, or call 209-830-4227.