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HCOG approves 2026 RTIP funding slate; Fortuna intersection draws opposition from CRTP
Summary
HCOG approved the 2026 RTIP and amendments adding several local projects, including $500,000 for Fortuna's Ken Mar & Ross Hill intersection improvement. CRTP objected that the project increases capacity and VMT; Fortuna’s city manager provided operational and safety data supporting the project.
The Humboldt County Association of Governments on Nov. 20 approved the draft 2026 Regional Transportation Improvement Program (RTIP) and an amendment to the 2022 RTP to allow projects to compete for funding. The board approved staff and TAC recommendations to prioritize three construction projects and fund five nominated projects from six agencies.
Notable recommended awards presented to the board were: Blue Lake truck-route construction phase ($625,000), Eureka’s Hawthorne & Humboldt bike boulevard construction ($750,000), Ferndale Francis Street rehabilitation ($425,000), and Fortuna’s Ken Mar & Ross Hill intersection improvement ($500,000). The City of Arcadia was recommended for PA/ED funding for its South Arcadia multimodal safety improvements plan.
The Fortuna intersection project drew public controversy. Colin Fisk of the Coalition of Responsible Transportation Priorities argued that projects increasing vehicular capacity tend to induce driving and therefore raise VMT and greenhouse-gas emissions, and urged HCOG to adopt clearer, objective funding-prioritization standards tied to RTP goals. Fortuna City Manager Amy Nilsen responded with operational evidence: the intersection currently operates at poor levels of service (D in AM, C in PM with projections worsening), queuing that exceeds storage, and local road-safety data identifying the intersection as a high-crash location. Nilsen described the project as conceptual pre-design that will include bike/pedestrian facilities, refuge islands and future public input, and argued the project will support planned mill-site redevelopment that could reduce regional VMT over time by creating local jobs and services.
TAC and staff said the prioritized construction projects meet multiple RTP discretionary criteria (mode shift, access to destinations, Vision Zero/safety, fix-it-first, and VMT support) and that reduced funding requests for some projects are deliverable at scaled scopes. The board approved resolutions (25-22 and 25-23) to amend the RTP and adopt the RTIP; the record shows motions and seconds followed by aye votes with no recorded opposition in the transcript.
Staff noted that prioritization in the RTIP context indicates which projects would be first considered if additional early funding becomes available, and that construction costs were a factor in prioritizing build-phase projects ahead of planning-only projects. With the RTIP adopted, staff will finalize submittals to Caltrans by the December deadline.
