SACRAMENTO — Caltrans has awarded $40.5 million to local agencies for transportation projects statewide. The grant money will be used for planning on projects that will reduce transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions and the impacts of climate change.

“From fire preparedness to transit improvements to paving the way for a bicycle superhighway, planning is a crucial first step in creating projects that can help us prepare for the effects of climate change,” said Caltrans Director Laurie Berman.

Among the grants awarded were nearly $31 million in Sustainable Communities grants. Here’s how it breaks down: $18 million for 53 local and regional multimodal transportation and land use planning projects and $12.5 million for metropolitan planning organizations.

The Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017 (SB 1) provides $25 million annually to this grant program. The remaining $6 million in Sustainable Communities grants consists of a combination of state and federal funds. Additionally, $6 million in Adaptation Planning grants were awarded to 19 projects throughout California, and 13 projects were awarded a total of $3.8 million in federally funded Strategic Partnership grants.

Among projects awarded funding are:

Placer-Sacramento Mobility Action Plan, $648,932
Bicycle Superhighway Phase I, Central Bikeway Feasibility Study and Alternatives Analysis, $800,000 Santa Clara Valley
Boggs Tract Sustainable Community Plan, $285,548 San Joaquin County
Fire Vulnerability Assessment and Emergency Evacuation Preparedness Plan, $247,884 Mendocino County
Big Sandy Rancheria Extreme Weather and Natural Disaster Evacuation Plan, U.S. 395 Strategic Corridor Investment Analysis, $195,700 Fresno County
San Diego Airport Transit Corridor Study, $458,102
Transit Fleet Electrification Feasibility Study for the Arroyo Verdugo Region Transit Operators $361,200 Los Angeles County
Adaptation Planning Southern California Regional Rail Authority $520,000 Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, An Bernardino, and Ventura Counties

A complete list of projects receiving planning grants can be found at: http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/tpp/3.19-20%20Caltrans%20Planing%20Grants%20Award%20List.pdf