Speaker 1: (00:00)
The new trillion dollar infrastructure bill passed by Congress last week is designed to overhaul. And re-imagine much of the nation's roadways, bridges, ports, rail transit, and power grid. San Diego is in line to receive tens of millions of dollars from the bill. And as it happens, the San Diego association of governments is presently working on updating the next regional transportation plan, a project that could include creating a rail connection to the San Diego airport, as well as other improvements, how the federal infrastructure bill could affect San Diego's ambitious infrastructure plans is right now being determined by SANDAG officials. Joining me is Hassani Curata chief executive officer of the San Diego association of governments. Hassan, welcome to the program.
Speaker 2: (00:48)
We'll be with you. Thank you.
Speaker 1: (00:51)
Is San Diego guaranteed a certain amount of money under the infrastructure bill?
Speaker 2: (00:57)
Um, there's two parts to the bill. One is the formula funding that we're going to get from Washington, but the most importantly is the grant funding we could get if we put good applications together. And I can tell you that this federal bill is a welcome news. It is an amazing opportunity for this region to move major infrastructure projects, to say it lightly, this national infrastructure bill puts every federal funding program is steroid. It doubles the federal program to support an expand the region rail system. It makes project like fixing that their motto pro for moving the tranq, uh, more achievable. It funds more that infrastructure and makes our autonomists a to project, a more achievable. Um, it, it moves us into the future when it comes to electric charging. It's an amazing program. And I think San Diego region will be one of the regions that use as an example of how successful it's been.
Speaker 1: (02:08)
As you mentioned, much of the money will be allocated under the discretion of the department of transportation. Those grant funds, as you said, how has San Diego prepared to compete for those funds?
Speaker 2: (02:18)
We, in the last couple of years, we actually have proven that we can get federal and state funding because we have very innovative and creative programs that we are ready at SANDAG to put actually we've been ready for awhile to apply for funding, to move the tracks of the bluff, to symbolize the bluff, to build the auto message, to, to continue with our environmental work on the new commuter rail lines. And so what we're going to do is we're going to immediately, once the department is ready with the rules, we're going to immediately police application. And not only that, this application has all the innovation and the data needed to make them successful. So we're, we're more than ready at SANDAG. And, and this is something your listeners probably be interested to know, uh, San Diego, when it comes to, you know, population, we're about 1% of the, of the nation's population. But if you look at our history, we got more than one person to the funding because we're creative, we're innovative. We're ready to go on this five big moves. This plan that we're just about to work our board to adapt has definitely imagine the future of transportation in San Diego have definitely put us in Lyon to compete and be the best competitor for all these programs that this national bill has. So we're really modern. We're ready to go and we're ready to receive significant funding from the federal government.
Speaker 1: (03:48)
So you're saying you think the proposed new regional transportation plan, uh, gives us an edge in competing for the funds because of the kinds of projects in it. Is that what you're saying?
Speaker 2: (03:59)
Absolutely. This plan, as I said, not only imagine the future of transportation in San Diego, but goes into the areas that this bill emphasize rail, which we're putting 200 miles of air belt rail. And we're going to went about to start the environmental work in that, moving the tracks of the Del Mar plot and stabilizing the plot for good that building the tunnel needed for that, where we just signed a memorandum of understanding with our partners in Mexico, not IMS, a two a, we are building a central mobility hub and making, uh, providing choices for San Diego to get around. So this the five big moves, the new plan definitely positioned us not only to compete for federal, but for state funding. It positions us to be very successful and exact. We were expecting exactly what's happening in this year. Right now, when we start the work on this
Speaker 1: (05:00)
Now, would monies received from the infrastructure bill allow SANDAG to abandon ideas like charging a 4 cent, a mile driving fee to fund transportation projects.
Speaker 2: (05:10)
The simple answer is yes, it could. We S we still need to know that the impact of this in the overall regional transportation plan, but if we could get the cause of the stimulus national stimulus, we could get enough money. Obviously we, we need the local funding. They haven't been in history and many projects that were a hundred percent funded by the federal government. So you need the local match to be successful. Every project requires you to put local money on the table. We're about to deliver the mid cost, a $2.2 billion project. The federal government paid half a billion, and we can have, so I don't expect this would the need for federal funding, but the local funding, but will this, for example, look at the statewide broad charge. That's going to have to be there because that's what the state is going to do by 2030, the additional road charge. Yes. We're going to evaluate and see whether we still need us, but absolutely is going to impact our local financial strategy moving.
Speaker 1: (06:21)
Aren't there a climate considerations though, in that 4 cent, a mile driving fee to try to get people off roads and onto public transportation.
Speaker 2: (06:28)
Totally. Uh, I think, uh, I'm Maureen, I spoke to you on porn when I started here, but almost three years ago. And I told you a nice, you could research this article. I told you, climate change is going to drive all transportation decisions. And that's exactly still true today. Climate change is driving it a road user charges, a very effective strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. That continued to be part of the discussion, but even if we scaled down and the, the local funding sources, we still need to come up with measures to reduce the greenhouse emission because we're required to do it by state law. So yes, there is global warming consideration for that Napali funding. And now that giving that we have a national stimulus that we think we're going to compete well for, do we need the state charge and the local charge, or do we need one of them? And that's something we still don't know the answer to, but at the end of the day, we're going to have a plan that meets the state's greenhouse gas emissions reduction that meets the federal requirement of financial constraints and needs our goals as a region to move forward with the system that we imagine the future of transportation.
Speaker 1: (07:46)
And how quickly do you expect the funds to be released? And these projects started,
Speaker 2: (07:51)
I believe this is the optimist in me. Uh, I believe by, by the end of this year, we should, we should hopefully see a final rules. Uh, but for us, we are writing the application right now in anticipation of this foods being finalized. It quickly dependent the stages of the project we have right now, a billion dollar worth projects that are ready to go, what did it took at the ground, but we have multiple billion dollar project that we still in the environmental, uh, and design process. And that is what I hope when the department of transportation, the national department of transportation, put the rules out, that they allow projects in the environmental stage to be eligible. And that's our hope. So it could be very quickly, but it will all depend how quickly the rules can be put in place. So the rules of the game are clear.
Speaker 1: (08:48)
I've been speaking with Hassan, Grotta chief executive officer of the San Diego association of governments. I Sam, thank you so much.
