Consultants for the Calaveras County Council of Governments presented the public draft of the 2025 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) update at the Oct. 1 meeting and said public comment on the plan and the associated environmental document is open through Oct. 28 with adoption expected Dec. 3.

"Projects that wanna be funded with state and federal dollars, they have to be in this plan in order to be implementable," Jeff Schwine of Green Dot Transportation Solutions told the board during the presentation.

Schwine said the RTP is a 20-year plan divided into two 10-year segments; the constrained short-range (first 10 years) list identifies approximately $236,000,000 of funding currently expected to be available for projects, and the long-range list identifies about $611,000,000 in projects whose funding sources are not yet identified.

The action element includes more than 350 projects for the county over 20 years. Schwine said the plan constrains the short-range list to projects for which funding is expected in the next 10 years and inflates cost estimates to the projected year of construction to reflect realistic budgets. He reported the county’s short-range breakdown includes roughly $91,000,000 in roadway projects and $29,000,000 in bridge projects.

The presenter reviewed common funding sources that support projects in the RTP, including formula funds tied to federal highway and state programs, the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), the State Highway Operations and Protection Program (SHOPP), the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) program, and competitive grant programs such as the Active Transportation Program. The consultant cautioned that some competitive programs are highly selective: "You have to get a 96 or above on the application to be competitive," he said.

Board members asked staff to confirm jurisdictional assignment for several projects in the action list and discussed flexibility in delivery: if a jurisdiction can deliver a project sooner it can proceed, and the RTP can be amended later as needed. Staff also said project delivery and timing are a challenge given cost inflation and staff turnover, making it important to build a pipeline of shovel-ready projects.

Public comments will be accepted through Oct. 28; the council expects to adopt a final RTP at its Dec. 3 meeting, after the comment period and any edits to the draft.