WASHINGTON, DC—Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA) secured $35 million as part of a government funding package for Fiscal Year 2023 for transportation, workforce development, affordable housing, drinking water improvement, and flood control projects in the Bay Area as well as Solano, Yolo, and Sacramento counties. The legislation is scheduled to pass the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday and is expected to pass and be signed into law by President Biden.

Garamendi added the funding for these local projects to the legislation as Community Project Funding requests—a new initiative that allows Members of Congress to request direct funding for critically important projects in their Congressional Districts.

“I am proud to have secured $35,090,619 in new federal funding for our Congressional District to bolster affordable housing, job creation, transportation, drinking water, flood control, and more” Garamendi said. “This legislation will address some of the most urgent challenges facing our communities and ensure that hardworking families across America have the support and care they need. I am pleased that this legislation will soon become law,” Garamendi concluded.

Garamendi secured the funding levels for the following projects in California’s 3rd Congressional District as part of the legislation:

    Career Technical Education in Richmond: $1,000,000 This federal funding will provide job training programs through a new Career Technical Education Center at Kennedy High School in Richmond, CA. This will help young people throughout the Bay Area receive the highest possible industry-standard certifications to help them earn high-wage jobs in the building trades industry. This program would not only uplift marginalized communities but would also fill a critical need for skilled building labor in a region with the lowest housing availability. Garamendi’s letter of support for this project can be viewed here.
Bioindustrial Workforce Development: $6,000,000 This federal funding will provide a vital boost to the bioindustrial workforce throughout Northern California to support this burgeoning industry that is fighting climate change, improving healthcare, growing the local and national economy, and more. In Congress, Garamendi represents the Bioindustrial Research and Manufacturing Corridor that stretches between Sacramento County and the Bay Area. He is a long-time advocate for bioindustrial research, manufacturing, and workforce development. Garamendi’s letter of support for this project can be viewed here. I-505/ Vaca Valley Parkway Corridor Multi-Modal Improvements Project in Vacaville: $4,000,000 This federal funding would help the Solano Transportation Authority make improvements along the Vaca Valley Parkway corridor from west of the East Monte Vista Avenue/Crocker Drive intersection to east of the northbound on/off ramps with I-505. This project will benefit the community by replacing two signals and a stop-controlled intersection with the construction of three, coordinated roundabouts. It will also help build new pedestrian and bicycle access, connect existing accessible pathways on both sides of I-505 via sidewalk improvements, provide a continuous route for non-motorized travelers, and connect the improvements at the western East Monte Vista/Crocker Drive intersection and eastern I-505 northbound ramp intersection with Vaca Valley Parkway. These upgrades will improve traffic flow and increase accessibility for vehicles, pedestrians, and bicyclists. Garamendi’s letter of support for this project can be viewed here. Access to Travis Air Force Base and Canon Road Safety Improvements: $4,000,000 This federal funding would construct a four-lane arterial roadway at the intersection of Vanden Road that includes a future grade separation to replace the existing two-lane at-grade crossing. The project would also include the installation of complete street improvements consisting of sidewalks, Class II bike lanes, landscaping, and streetlights. This project will benefit the community by allowing the City of Fairfield, with the Solano Transportation Authority, to improve the at-grade crossing. This will reduce train-involved accidents and provide safe truck access to 286 acres of planned development in northeast Fairfield to support a proposed 4.6 million square feet of new industrial sites and jobs. Garamendi’s letter of support for this project can be viewed here. SR128/I–505 Overcrossing in Winters: $2,000,000 This federal funding would modify the SR128/I-505 interchange ramps to provide safer crossings to pedestrians and bicyclists; widen the overcrossing to construct 10-feet standard outside shoulders on both sides of the structure and an 8-feet-wide Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant sidewalk on the southside; replace the existing bridge barrier rail to meet current standards; and construct a bike/pedestrian connection from the overcrossing to the El Rio Villa community. This project will benefit the community by providing safer crossings to pedestrians and bicyclists; addressing social inequities and accessibility for disadvantaged communities; creating a safer roadway for all modes of transportation; and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Garamendi’s letter of support for this project can be viewed here. Upgrading Electronic Health Record (EHR) Systems in Solano County: $1,000,000 This federal funding will provide a much-needed upgrade for the Electronic Health Record system for the Family Health Services program within the Solano County Public Health Department. Solano’s Family Health Services program serves the largest number of Medi-Cal patients in Solano County (30,852). This critically important program is a vital safety net for the Solano community, and this new funding will help promote patient safety and improve the quality of care that Solano’s Family Health Services program can provide. Garamendi’s letter of support for this project can be viewed here. Stevenson Bridge Rehabilitation Project: $3,387,619 This federal funding would rehabilitate the structurally deficient Stevenson Bridge, a 298-foot multi-span rainbow bridge that spans over Putah Creek in Solano and Yolo Counties. According to the California Department of Transportation, the bridge is a rare example of a reinforced concrete through tied-arch structure and is the oldest bridge of this type in California and possibly the United States. This project will benefit the community by rehabilitating this historic landmark by providing a seismic retrofit, widening travel lanes, an overlay, and striping. Specifically, new pilings and a carbon-fiber wrapping system will be installed to provide more than 75 years of life to the bridge. Garamendi’s letter of support for this project can be viewed here. New Particulate Filters for Bay Area Ferries: $1,520,000      This federal funding will be used to install diesel particulate filters (DPF’s) on two of the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority’s ferries currently under construction. Each ferry has 4 engines and will require 2 DPF’s per engine, meaning a total of 16 DPF’s will be required. The Authority’s newest vessels are the first passenger vessels in the country to achieve the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s tier 4 emission standard, the most environmentally advanced rating. It will also bring meet California’s air emission reduction goals from the State’s Commercial Harbor Craft Regulations. This project will benefit the community by providing an 85 percent reduction in emissions of particulate matter. The vessels will operate on the Authority’s routes across the Bay Area—including the ferry terminals in San Francisco, Alameda Seaplane, Harbor Bay, Oakland and Alameda, Richmond, South San Francisco, and Vallejo. Garamendi’s letter of support for this project can be viewed here. SolTrans 100% Battery Electric Buses: $2,000,000 This federal funding will be used to allow Solano County Transit to replace its aging diesel bus fleet with battery-electric buses, taking delivery of four additional battery-electric commuter coaches. This project will benefit the community by replacing Solano County Transit’s existing diesel bus fleet, which will soon reach the end of its useful life, with battery-electric buses. This will reduce noise pollution and emissions of greenhouse gases and particulate matter from public busing throughout Solano County Transit’s service area. Garamendi’s letter of support for this project can be viewed here. Affordable Housing in Vacaville: $750,000 This federal funding will be used to build 14 new affordable residential units in Vacaville for individuals and families making between 50%-80% of the Area Median Income (AMI). The monthly cost of these units will not exceed 30% of their household income. Nine of the units would be three-bedroom family homes, while the other five would be one-bedroom apartments. This project will benefit the community by creating nine three-bedroom homes as well as five one-bedroom apartments for households making between 50%-80% of AMI. According to the City of Vacaville’s Consolidated plan, there are 4,655 households in the city at that income threshold with 1,829 of those households considered cost-burdened by HUD. This project will provide critically needed low-income housing capped at 30% of the tenant’s income. Garamendi’s letter of support for the project can be viewed here. Clean Energy Homes: $750,000 This federal funding will be used to allow Marin Clean Energy to conduct needs assessments of low-income households and remedy health issues in their homes. This could include: electrifying homes to improve air quality, updating electrical panels to mitigate fire hazards and enable electrification upgrades, properly sealing homes including mold removal and drywall replacement, and roof repair to allow for solar panels. Marin Clean Energy’s service area includes Solano County. This project will benefit the community by addressing housing repair needs identified by the local Department of Housing and Urban Development. Many of the low-income homes in this area are in a state of disrepair. Funding this project would ensure the well-being of at least 200 low-income households in Garamendi’s district. Garamendi’s letter of support for the project can be viewed here. Improved Drinking Water in Solano County: $2,824,000 This federal funding will be used to improve the water quality and supply from the Quail Canyon Improvement District. The Quail Canyon Improvement District is one of nine small rural public water systems throughout Solano County that Solano Irrigation District owns and operates. The current well system, which is the sole water supply for this area of Solano County, is inadequate and degraded by multiple years of punishing drought and the 2020 LNU Complex Fire. A new relocated well and associated conveyance facilities are needed to provide reliable domestic water supply, drought resilience, and firefighting capability to the 39 residential lots in the Quail Canyon Improvement District and other rural homes in the area. This project will benefit the community by allowing the Solano Irrigation District to provide water service to six or more additional homes in the area currently located outside the Quail Canyon Improvement District that have wells that have run dry and are currently relying on trucked water for domestic use. Garamendi’s letter of support for the project can be viewed here. Flood Control for the City of Woodland: $1,000,000 This federal funding will be used to allow the City of Woodland to proceed with planning, engineering, and design for Lower Cache Creek Flood Risk Management Project. This project will benefit the community by allowing the Army Corps, City of Woodland, and California’s Central Valley Flood Protection Board to conclude a design agreement; prepare a project management plan; and initiate field work needed for the preparation of plans and specifications (such as borings, surveys, and hydraulic analysis) for the proposed project. The project will provide a 200-year level of flood protection to residents of the City of Woodland, complying with the State of California’s flood protection requirement for urban areas. Garamendi’s letter of support for the project can be viewed here. Sacramento River Basin Floodplain Reactivation: $7,859,000 This federal funding will be used to support the Sacramento River Basin Floodplain Reactivation for Salmon Habitat, Fish Food, and Fish Passage Project. Specifically, it will support work by a broad coalition of landowners, water suppliers, local governments, academic institutions, environmental non-governmental organizations, and the State of California to implement cost-shared, nature-based solutions to reactivate floodplains, provide fish rearing habitat, generate fish food, improve fish passage, and enhance overall ecosystem function while maintaining farming, flood protection, and managed wetland operations. This project will benefit the community by providing food sources for salmon and other federally protected fish and bird species. Garamendi’s letter of support for the project can be viewed here.