LAKE COUNTY — Nearly $4.9 million in the latest state transportation allocation package is headed to Lake County, and every dollar is for state Route 29.
But the money is not county paving money, and it is not all going to one Middletown-to-Lower Lake corridor.
The package includes two Caltrans projects on the state highway: about $1.9 million in Senate Bill 1 support funding for Route 29 improvements north of Route 175 toward Lakeport, and about $3 million for construction of new turn-lane safety work at C Street near Twin Lakes, south of Lower Lake.
Caltrans announced the Lake County items May 20 as part of a $540 million round of California Transportation Commission allocations. Lake County’s share is less than 1% of the statewide total, but it is concentrated on the same state highway that carries much of the county’s north-south traffic and connects south Lake County to Napa Valley.
The two Lake County items are:
$1.9 million in SB 1 support funding for a Route 29 project that would rehabilitate pavement, improve pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, and upgrade traffic management system elements, lighting and guardrail. The official CTC listing places the work on Route 29 north of Route 175 toward Lakeport and describes the money as support funding for project plans, specifications, estimates and right-of-way support.
$3 million for construction at the C Street intersection on northbound Route 29 near Twin Lakes, south of Lower Lake. The project will build a left-turn lane and an acceleration lane, which Caltrans says will improve safety and reduce the number and severity of collisions. The funding includes $300,000 from SB 1 and $2.7 million from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021.
Both are Caltrans projects on the state highway system. They are not Lake County Public Works paving projects. The county’s own road-repair program uses a separate mix of funding, including gas tax return, SB 1 local apportionment and federal aid for county roads. None of the $4.9 million in this CTC package flows into that program.
That means the May allocation does not add money to county road repairs — and does not take money away from them.
What the statewide package bought
The full $540 million package includes $253 million from SB 1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017; $152 million from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021; and $135 million from the State Highway Account, the general fund and other state and federal sources, Caltrans said.
The largest single item in the package was a $117.8 million project to replace the fender system on the west span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. Fenders are the structures that absorb impact from ship strikes before the force reaches the bridge piers.
The commission also approved $53 million to finish a communication-based train control system for BART. Caltrans said the system will allow more frequent service as the Bay Area prepares for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
“Californians deserve a transportation system that is safe, reliable and built for future growth,” state Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin said in the announcement. “The Commission’s action today helps support Governor Newsom’s goals of improving multimodal connectivity.”
What District 1 got
Caltrans District 1, which oversees state highways in Lake, Mendocino, Humboldt and Del Norte counties, received most of its allocations this round for storm and emergency repairs.
Mendocino County received several emergency allocations, including $6.7 million for Route 1 near Elk after a February landslide, $3.7 million for U.S. 101 near Pieta after December rains, $2.6 million for U.S. 101 near Piercy after winter storms and $2.5 million for Route 1 near Rockport after December storms.
Humboldt County drew emergency allocations for Route 211 and Route 96, plus roadway work on U.S. 101 near Orick and Klamath. Del Norte County received about $2.8 million for drainage improvements and fish passage upgrades on U.S. 101 from the Humboldt County line to the Oregon border.
Lake County’s two Route 29 awards are among the few non-emergency District 1 items in the round. Both are planned highway upgrades rather than storm response.
Why Route 29
State Route 29 is Lake County’s main north-south state highway. It runs from Napa County into Middletown, then north through Lower Lake, Kelseyville and Lakeport before connecting with the north end of the county’s highway network.
For south Lake County residents, Route 29 is a work route, a shopping route, a medical route and a fire route. It carries traffic between Lake County and Napa Valley, and it is one of the roads residents watch most closely during wildfire evacuations.
That history is why even ordinary highway allocations on Route 29 carry more weight than the dollar figure suggests. In Lake County, safety work on the state highway is also evacuation infrastructure.
The C Street project is the more immediate construction item. The broader Route 29 pavement, pedestrian, bicycle, lighting, guardrail and traffic-management project is earlier-stage support work, meaning the allocation helps move the project through design and right-of-way preparation rather than putting crews on the road next week.
A construction schedule for the two Lake County items was not posted on Caltrans District 1 project pages as of Tuesday. This story will be updated as work calendars are released.
Roger Coryell is editor of Wine Country Daily. Reach him at roger@rogercoryell.com or (707) 892-3953.