The San Benito Council of Governments, the joint transportation planning agency, has committed itself to a year of focusing on the transportation needs of residents of the county.
With money coming in from the passage of Measure G, the inter-governmental organization will now have funds to complete several improvement projects, according to a press release.
The council of governments is made up of government officials throughout the county, working as the regional transportation agency for Hollister and San Juan Bautista.
The council of governments said its 2019 plans are to work with the state and federal governments to ensure maximum investments in the county; coordinate with San Benito County, the City of Hollister and the City of San Juan Bautista; implement the council’s projects outlined in the investment plan; address the needs outlined in the detailed Measure G Investment Plan built with community input; and create a Measure G Citizens Oversight Committee.
San Benito residents passed Measure G Nov. 6. It put in place an additional one-cent sales tax in the county, which will go to repairing potholes, maintaining roads, widening Highway 25 and improving pedestrian, bicycle and transit infrastructure.
The press release said funds from the measure will soon be available for projects. “Expect to see retailers collecting the Measure G sales tax starting April 1, 2019. Then, by this fall, local road repair funds will be granted to each jurisdiction.”
Measure G funding was seen as vital to the Highway 25 project, a four-lane expressway designed to open up the flow of traffic and cut off private access to the roadway.
“We are now in the process of working closely with the state and federal government to ensure maximum investments in the Route 25 project,” the press release said. “Our first step is to conduct an environmental study and design, formulate timely benchmark goals and prepare a timeline.”
