U.S. Rep. John Garamendi Joins MTC for State Route 37 Corridor Tour

U.S. Rep. John Garamendi on Thursday joined MTC and Caltrans for a tour of the State Route 37 corridor to learn more about the Sears Point to Mare Island Improvement project, which MTC and the four North Bay counties are supporting.

The project is a candidate for federal funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, having been endorsed as the Bay Area’s top priority for funding through the Rural Transportation Grant Program. In addition to Rep. Garamendi and several of his aides, participants in the Highway 37 tour included MTC Chair and Napa County Supervisor Alfredo Pedroza, MTC Commissioner and Solano County Supervisor Jim Spering, MTC Commissioner and Sonoma County Supervisor David Rabbitt, MTC Deputy Executive Director Andrew Fremier, and MTC project manager Kevin Chen, along with executives from Solano and Sonoma counties’ transportation agencies.

The Sears Point to Mare Island Improvement project, which seeks to relieve congestion and accommodate bus service through the 10-mile segment where there is now just a single lane in each direction, has received letters of support from Rep. Garamendi, Rep. Mike Thompson, state Sen. Bill Dodd, state Sen. Mike McGuire along with many other members of the Bay Area’s Congressional delegation as well as U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein and U.S. Senator Alex Padilla. The project also provides an opportunity for near-term wetlands restoration in key locations, including at the Tolay Creek Bridge in Sonoma County. 

MTC also is working in partnership with Caltrans and the four North Bay counties to advance the Highway 37 corridor’s long-term resilience to sea level rise. The Commission recently received a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Build America Bureau to support its work to engage environmental stakeholders and regulatory agencies, and to integrate landscape scale environmental benefits into the long-term redesign of Highway 37.