The city of Rocklin will be receiving about $1.6 million in Proposition 1B funds to help maintain and repair roads in the city.

In 2006, California voters approved Prop 1B as a part of a series of infrastructure repair bonds.

Prop 1B provides for local transportation improvement projects to relieve congestion, improve the movement of goods, improve air quality, and enhance the safety and security of the transportation system.

In addition to the funding awarded directly to the city, the Placer County Transit Planning Agency was awarded almost $275,000, part of which will be used to create new parking at the "Rocklin Multi-Modal Station."

According to Rocklin Director of Public Works Kent Foster, “We have about $4 million in road maintenance needs and about $2 million coming from gas taxes.”

Including the Prop 1B funds awarded to the city, there is still about a $400,000 shortfall.

“Almost everything we use to maintain the roads are petroleum products,” Foster said. “So our costs are going up.”

Foster indicated that some counties have increased their sales taxes by ¼ to ½ percent to pay for their road maintenance.

In Rocklin, the city is using some newer techniques to extend the life of some roads.

“If we do preventative maintenance, we can get 40 years out of some roads,” he said.

According to City Manager Carlos Urrutia, the Prop 1B funds for the train station had to be secured by the PCTPA because a transit operator had to apply for them.

The parking that will be installed at the train depot will help to replace the parking that will be lost when Heritage Park is built next to Saint Mary’s Church on Front Street.

“We’re proposing to put some angled parking on Front Street in front of the church to help make up what we’re losing from Heritage Park,” he said.

In a press release, State Senator Dave Cox, R-Roseville, said, “This funding will help transit officials make patron’s commuting experience easier and more convenient.”

“The Board of Directors, Agency staff and everyone who worked hard to make this grant a reality should be commended for their efforts,” Cox said.

California Department of Transportation Director Will Kempton said, “The funding of these projects will encourage the use of public transit and give Californians an alternative to rising gas prices."