County delegation in Washington D.C. making pitch for federal funding of transportation projects

Local government leaders are in Washington D.C. this week making the pitch for federal dollars to support transportation projects in San Joaquin County.

The San Joaquin Council of Governments reported that it’s the largest-ever San Joaquin One Voice delegation, including 75 local elected officials who arrived in Washington D.C. on Monday.

The delegation is seeking support for 12 projects, three of them in the Tracy and Mountain House area, including an upgraded interchange at Interstate 205 and International Parkway/Mountain House Parkway, a new transit hub in Mountain House, and a realignment of Grant Line Road just east of Tracy.

One Voice is the San Joaquin COG’s federal advocacy program, and brings regional leaders together to champion funding and legislative support for initiatives with countywide impact.

Meetings were scheduled with key federal leaders, including California’s U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, Congressional Represenatatives Josh Harder and Adam Gray, the staffs of Representatives Pete Aguilar and Jim Costa, and officials from key House committees and subcommittees.

Agencies the delegation will meet with include the Federal Railroad Administration, Federal Transit Administration, Federal Highway Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, and the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, all with the goal of securing federal support for priority projects across San Joaquin County.

San Joaquin COG officials credit the One Voice initiative with helping secure more than $41 million recently for the widening of Corral Hollow Road leading to Interstate 580 at the south end of Tracy. Other projects advocated by One Voice to receive federal funding recently include the State Route 99/120 Interchange ($5.5 million), Grant Line Road improvements ($2.5 million) and the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission’s Rail Academy of Central California ($1.5 million).

The San Joaquin COG Board of Directors approved its 2025 Legislative Platform back in February, and it serves as COG’s list of top priorities for federal funding. They include transportation, infrastructure, economic development and environmental needs.

The City of Tracy’s main request this year is funding for an upgraded freeway interchange on Interstate 205 at Mountain House Parkway/International Parkway, providing access to the City of Mountain House to the north and the Cordes Ranch industrial developments to the south. It’s expected to cost about $54 million, and the One Voice delegation is asking for $39.5 million. The project includes a new westbound loop on-ramp, realignment of the westbound diagonal on-and off-ramps and widening of the eastbound diagonal loop and diagonal on-ramps.

The City of Mountain House seeks funding for its Regional Mobility Hub, the city’s connection to the Valley Link commuter rail project, with its first phase expected to terminate at Mountain House, with future phases leading to Tracy and Lathrop. That hub is expected to cost about $8 million, with the city requesting $5 million in federal funding. It would pay for a new signalized intersection on Mountain House Parkway and would include six bus bays, a hydrogen fueling facility, parking lots with up to 3,000 spaces, plus bicycle parking and lockers.

San Joaquin County is seeking funding for the planned 1.65-mile realignment of Grant Line Road between the eastern Tracy city limit and 11th Street and Bird Road. It would be a new four-lane roadway that directs traffic away from Banta. The estimated cost is nearly $73.4 million, with the One Voice delegation asking for $12.2 million.

Other requests by San Joaquin COG include: Interstate 5/ Louise Avenue Interchange in Lathrop, a hydrogen conversion energy center in Lodi, a diverging diamond interchange on Highway 120 at Airport Way in Manteca, an airport taxiway at Stockton Metropolitan Airport Taxiway D Connector, San Joaquin County, a managed lanes initiative for Interstate 205, a north Lathrop transfer station for the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission, vehicle replacements for the San Joaquin Regional Transit District/United Cerebral Palsy, reconstruction of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Stockton, and Bellota weir modifications for the Stockton East Water District.

• Contact the Tracy Press at tpnews@tracypress.com or (209) 835-3030.