The San Joaquin Council of Governments (SJCOG) Board of Directors recently moved to add funding toward the region’s top transportation priority and committed to setting another as a funding priority in 2026.

The board at its Nov. 30 meeting unanimously approved a resolution adopting the 2024 Regional Transportation Improvement Program (RTIP) for San Joaquin County, which sets priority projects for funding via the California Transportation Commission’s (CTC) State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP). In all, about $43.45 million will go toward closing the funding shortfall for the first phase of the State Route 99/120 Connector Project in Manteca, and significantly reducing the shortfall for the project’s second phase. Closing the shortfall for the first phase means construction can begin in 2024.

A second resolution approved at the same time set the Interstate 205 Managed Lanes Project as the top funding priority for the next STIP funding cycle beginning in 2026. Both projects will improve traffic safety, ease traffic congestion, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and enhance air quality.

“These are very important steps for two very important transportation projects that affect the entire region,” SJCOG Board Chair David Bellinger said. “These actions help us to construct improvements at State Route 99/120 and set us up for future funding for the I-205 project. In the end, this will strategically focus efforts on critical highway networks in San Joaquin that are important for moving goods and commuters.”

The remaining funding gap for the second phase of the SR 99/120 project is expected to be eliminated as SJCOG works on leveraging Measure K funding to secure other state and federal dollars. Measure K is the half-cent sales tax managed by SJCOG for transportation improvements in San Joaquin County.

The CTC adopts a new STIP every two years to outline five-year funding cycles for traffic operational improvements, transit capital improvements, and highway and roadway widening. Generally, it is the region’s largest source of capital funding other than Measure K. SJCOG’s 2024 RTIP covers funding requests for Fiscal Years 2024-25 through 2028-29.