County Transportation Authority agrees to provide missing money for Highway 92 project

The San Mateo County Transportation Authority board voted unanimously Thursday to advance $3.8 million to Half Moon Bay for its Main Street/Highway 92 project. This is a tremendous relief for a city that has been struggling for years to fix a traffic bottleneck.

This advance fills the gap created earlier this year when the state "reprogrammed" the money for the project until 2007.  The project is now fully funded and bids can be solicited.  Acquisition of additional rights-of-way by eminent domain is already in progress.

The funding is also a huge political win for the current city council. Getting funding for the on-again, off-again highway project before the election gives incumbents Jim Grady and Mike Ferreira bragging rights.  For a while, it looked as if the decision would be delayed until after the election. Mayor Grady worked with county supervisor Rich Gordon to keep the decision on schedule and deliver the goods before the election.

The vote followed the recommendation of the SMCTA staff and the unanimous recommendation of its Citizen’s Advisory Committee. Mayor Jim Grady, Councilmember Mike Ferreira, City Manager Debra Ryan, Public Works Director Paul Nagengast, and property owner Keet Nerhan attended the meeting.  Grady and Nerhan addressed the board prior to the vote and urged adoption.

Board Members voting yes were Supervisors Mark Church and Rich Gordon, and Councilmembers Joe Galligan of Burlingame, John Lee of San Mateo, Lee Panza of Brisbane and Roseanne Foust of Redwood City.

This is the first time that the SMCTA has advanced money to cover the shortfall of another agency. Earlier in the year, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission awarded $2.4 million in additional funding to the Main Street/Highway 92 project to cover cost escalations.