SAN DIEGO (CNS) - More than $63 million in proposed federal funding was announced Tuesday to support nearly two dozen projects across the San Diego region.
Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, said in a statement that the Fiscal Year 2023 appropriations package that will deliver funding for 22 projects slated for the San Diego region will head next to both chambers of Congress for final passage.
Among the projects expected to receive funding in the package are:
-- $7 million for Lomas Santa Fe Drive in Solana Beach. The project is intended to increase safety for pedestrians and bicyclists with the construction of a multi-use trail, along with widening sidewalks, extending curbs, improving ADA compliance, improving signal timing to increase pedestrian and driver awareness, and reducing congestion.
-- $6 million for an Ocean Pollution Research Project by the UC San Diego Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The project will focus on seafloor research to forecast pollution impacts on fisheries.
-- $4.48 million for San Diego County's Mobile Crisis Response Team. The teams are a non-law enforcement response for those undergoing mental health or substance abuse crises. According to Padilla's office, the funding will add overnight coverage for two teams, seven days per week.
-- $4 million for the Brandt Road Bridge Replacement Project in Imperial County. The project will replace the 72-year-old Brandt Road bridge with a new single-span bridge.
-- $4 million for Leucadia Streetscape Drainage Improvements in Encinitas. The project is aimed at improving accessibility, providing gathering spaces, restoring the historic tree canopy, and revitalizing the Leucadia business district.
-- $4 million for the Ocean Beach Library Expansion, which will add more community spaces.
-- $3.75 million for the purchase of a twin-engine firefighting helicopter, which will assist firefighting efforts in San Diego County and neighboring counties.
-- $3.45 million for the city of Oceanside's Loma Alta Creek Sewer Relocation, which will move a sewer main from a creek bed to a roadway to minimize environmental damage in the event of a sanitary sewer overflow.
-- $3.45 million for the Smuggler's Gulch Dredging Project, which will clear trash and sediment to protect downstream communities, and protect human and environmental health in the Tijuana River Watershed and coastal waters.
-- $3.39 million for Borrego Water District's Borrego Spring Transmission Main, which will update the water distribution system and reduce water pipeline breaks.
-- $3.3 million to the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority to support the purchase and installation of electric charging stations for the use of electrical Ground Support Equipment at San Diego International Airport.
-- $3.14 million for the city of San Diego's Downtown Mobility Project, which will implement bikeways throughout downtown to link to surrounding neighborhoods.
-- $3.06 million for the Valley Center Municipal Water District's Lilac Road Pipeline Replacement, which is aimed at reducing water loss and improving water conservation, among other benefits of the 60-year-old pipeline's replacement.
-- $2 million for San Diego's Light Up San Diego Streetlight Improvement Program, which will upgrade obsolete streetlights in beach communities.
-- $1.5 million to support the development of a "cohesive strategy" to prevent fires in San Diego County.
-- $1.4 million for the city of Escondido's South Escondido Access Improvement Project, which will go towards traffic signal construction.
-- $1.2 million for the Imperial Community Kitchen Incubator Project to assist micro-business owners.
-- $1.13 million for Summer Math Academies at UC San Diego, which aims to train teachers and successfully transition Black, Latino, low-income, and military-connected students from middle to high school to post-secondary mathematics.
-- $1.1 million for the UC San Diego Health Community Mobile Unit, which Padilla's office says will provide preventative healthcare in underserved communities in the San Diego region.
-- $752,000 to El Cajon Behavioral Health Center in San Diego for an initiative to improve access to primary healthcare and specialty care -- including behavioral health services and substance use disorder services -- for low-income, uninsured, and underinsured immigrant and refugee populations.
-- $750,000 for mobile solar-powered electric vehicle chargers in the city of San Diego.
-- $524,972 to San Diego State University to support a pilot program expanding the school's bridge program, which trains teachers and school personnel to support children with behavioral and mental health challenges and support to ensure families and children access the services to meet their basic needs.
