Pinole's San Pablo Avenue Would Get $742K: Infrastructure Bill

PINOLE, CA — The U.S. House of Representatives approved a $715 billion infrastructure plan, and if the Senate passes it, it will mean $742,000 for the San Pablo Avenue Rehabilitation project in Pinole.

If President Joe Biden signs it into law, it would be the nation’s largest infrastructure investment in about 75 years: a 50 percent increase over the last infrastructure budget, according to The New York Times.

California would be a big winner under the proposed law. The bill includes more than $900 million for projects throughout the Golden State. They include bridges, bike lanes and express lanes, railway expansions, electric vehicle charging stations, zero-emission transit fleets, tunnels, transportation hubs, wastewater and drinking water projects and other infrastructure to prepare for rising sea levels.

Locally, $742,000 is earmarked in the bill to be put toward roadway improvements to San Pablo Avenue. The funding was requested by U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson, who represents Pinole in Congress.

Another $6 million in the bill is earmarked for traffic signal system upgrades along Interstate Highway 680 in Concord, Danville, Pleasant Hill and Walnut Creek. Funds for the I-680 project were requested by U.S. Rep. Mark DeSaulnier.

The surface transportation and water spending bill prioritizes a Democratic wish list of projects for combating climate change. Democratic legislators argued that the funding is needed to contend with the effects of climate change and reduce the nation’s carbon footprint.

The unprecedented heat wave gripping the Pacific Northwest, killing dozens, added a sense of urgency among Democrats, who pushed the bill forward this week over Republican objections in the House.

“We have to rebuild in ways that we never even thought about before,” Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, told The New York Times. “This is the moment. We have to be bold.”

Click here to see all California projects that would be funded under the current bill.

Patch staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.