TAMC gets $2.25M state grant for Highway 1 Elkhorn Slough corridor project
MOSS LANDING – The Transportation Agency for Monterey County has been awarded a $2.25 million Climate Adaption Planning grant from the California Department of Transportation for the “Highway 1 Elkhorn Slough Corridor Climate Resiliency Project.”
The grant was awarded to evaluate climate vulnerability of the Highway 1 Elkhorn Slough corridor which is vulnerable to coastal climate change impacts such a sea level rise and storm surges.
The “Highway 1 Elkhorn Slough Corridor Climate Resiliency Project” will focus on the resiliency of an 8-mile segment of Highway 1 through Moss Landing and the parallel rail tracks traversing the Elkhorn Slough, as well as county roads.
Nearly 40,000 vehicles cross the 8-mile stretch of the two-lane highway each day.
TAMC Executive Director Todd Muck said in a press release the railway runs along the main stem of the Elkhorn Slough for 5 miles, where the tracks are prone to being flooded during king tides, and points out that the track is critical to freight and the planned expansion of passenger rail service as an alternative option to driving Highway 101 to San Jose and beyond.
The Elkhorn Slough is an estuary where salt and freshwater meet. It contains the third-largest tidal salt marsh in California and is a place with rich biological diversity, providing a habitat for over 20,000 migratory birds. It is the largest nesting area for the snowy plover, home to more than a hundred fish species, and a resting place for threatened southern sea otters.
The $2.25 million Caltrans grant builds upon the initial $1 million State funding project grant secured by Assembly Member Dawn Addis and State Senator John Laird in October. That funding is for planning activities that will evaluate potential critical infrastructure updates to the sea level rise vulnerable transportation corridors along the corridor, according to the press release. This additional funding will enable TAMC to evaluate the viability of corridor alternatives, reach stakeholder consensus, establish a scope, and project design to position projects in the corridor for environmental clearance; ultimately preparing projects for future local, state, and federal grant opportunities.
In 2020, the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments and The Nature Conservancy put together a report that evaluated options to elevate the highway while preserving the Elkhorn Slough ecosystem. The initial $1 million in State funding was to build on this report and create actionable plans for viable construction projects that consider the ecology and economy.
Caltrans awards transportation planning grants each year through a competitive process to encourage local and regional projects. The grant for the Elkhorn Slough project is one of four grants awarded in Caltrans District 5 and one of 89 projects awarded statewide for more than $51 million to help make the state’s transportation system more resilient to the impacts of climate change.
