Press Releases

Congressman Salud Carbajal (CA-24) announced today nearly $1,000,000 in grants funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to prevent roadway deaths and protect pedestrians in Santa Barbara County.

Grants from the Safe Streets and Roads for All Grant Program, which was created by Rep. Carbajal through his work on the 2021 infrastructure law, is delivering funds to both the City and County of Santa Barbara to support the development of comprehensive safety action plans to achieve a goal of zero roadway deaths.

“Part of revitalizing our infrastructure and improving our roads and highways is making sure that Central Coast residents are safe while using them, both as a passenger and as a pedestrian,” said Rep. Carbajal. “I’m proud to see another round of infrastructure funding coming to the Central Coast to help deliver on our goal of making traffic deaths a thing of the past.”

 "Through the Safe Streets and Roads for All program, we have now announced safety funding going directly to communities representing seventy percent of the people living in this country,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “We are acting to confront the crisis of safety on our nation’s roads, helping communities work to reduce traffic deaths to the only acceptable number: zero.”  

The City of Santa Barbara is receiving $799,400 and the County of Santa Barbara is receiving $192,000.

“Because of federal Infrastructure funding, the County will be able to create a comprehensive plan for road safety improvements, benefitting drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists – and saving lives,” said Das Williams, Chair of the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors.

“On behalf of the City of Santa Barbara, I would like to acknowledge the ongoing efforts of Congressman Carbajal to secure resources for our region and to thank him for helping to secure transportation grant funding. At a time when local revenue streams are challenged to complete needed infrastructure projects due to inflation and a difficult bidding atmosphere, this type of assistance is timely and very welcome,” said Santa Barbara Mayor Randy Rowse.

Last year, the County of San Luis Obispo received $320,000 from this grant program for their Safe Streets Action Plan.

More information on the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program can be found here.

This is the third round of grants announced by Carbajal this month from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Last week, he announced $1,000,000 in federal infrastructure grants to support improved passenger rail options for Central Coast residents.

Rep. Carbajal also announced a $8,000,000 grant funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to reduce vehicle collisions with Central Coast wildlife by connecting the habitat on either side of U.S. Highway 101 through the Gaviota Pass.

To date, the Central Coast has received over $550 million for more than 100 projects, including:

·         More than $200 million for road, bridge, and highway upgrades across the Central Coast, including $75 million to fund an extension of the HOV lanes on Highway 101

·         $47 million to support clean water projects across the region, including $14 million to support the Ventura Water Pure Program and $9 million to support the Carpinteria Advanced Purification Project

·         $25 million to plug approximately 171 orphan oil wells in Cat Canyon in Santa Barbara County and $1.4 million to plug an orphaned oil well in the Channel Islands National Park

·         $12 million for the Gold Coast Transit District for low and no emission buses

·         More than $7 million in funding for upgrades at seven different regional airports on the Central Coast, including Santa Barbara Municipal Airport, San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport, and Santa Maria Airport

·         $500,000 to help close the digital divide by expanding high-speed internet connectivity in the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.

A map of some of the investments funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law can be found at Invest.gov.

Through his role as a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Congressman Carbajal helped write and pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law over the course of 2021.