Rep. Correa, Sen. Padilla announced the federal funding for the Santa Ana Boulevard Grade Separation Project.
SANTA ANA, Calif. – Representative Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) and Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif) have announced $25 million in federal funding for the City of Santa Ana for the Santa Ana Boulevard Grade Separation Project. Funding was secured through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grant program. Rep. Correa and Sen. Padilla helped pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that provides funding for this program and supported a substantial increase in funding for RAISE.
The $25 million in federal tax dollars will facilitate the reconstruction of the current rail crossing at Santa Ana Boulevard, adjacent to the Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center, into a new multimodal grade-separated underpass. The project includes reducing the roadway from six lanes to four lanes, incorporating on-street protected bikeways, sidewalks, and a pedestrian overcrossing parallel to the rail line, enhancing safety for pedestrians and bicyclists, improving traffic operations, boosting emergency response times, and alleviating traffic congestion along Santa Ana Boulevard.
City staff and elected officials collaborated with Rep. Correa’s and Sen. Padilla’s offices to advocate on Santa Ana’s behalf to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) regarding the project.
“We are truly thankful to Rep. Correa and Sen. Padilla for supporting the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that made the funding for this project possible,” Mayor Valerie Amezcua said. “The Santa Ana Boulevard Grade Separation Project will literally save lives by making a busy railroad crossing safer for drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians. In a busy, urban city like Santa Ana, we must do everything we can to ensure that our residents, families, and students can get around safely on our roadways and sidewalks.”
In his announcement, Rep. Correa added, “We need to create good-paying jobs and keep our local economy growing while ensuring that traffic congestion does not hurt our quality of life. With this federal funding, that future will be made a reality. I’m grateful to work alongside our local partners, especially Mayor Amezcua and members of the Santa Ana City Council, to ensure that Santa Ana continues to get the federal support it deserves, for all those who work in Santa Ana and call Santa Ana home.”
Sen. Padilla announced that the railway project was one of four California transportation projects have been awarded over $65 million from DOT through the RAISE program this year.
“From Sacramento County to San Diego, this critical funding up and down the state will make our roadways safer, help thousands of passengers get where they need to go, and keep our supply chain moving,” said Sen. Padilla. “The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law continues to deliver for California communities, driving historic investments in local and regional transportation infrastructure projects to make critical rail tracks and roadways safer and more accessible.”
The RAISE program invests in road, rail, transit, and port projects across the country that may struggle to receive support through other DOT grant programs. The Santa Ana Boulevard Grade Separation Project is expected to be completed by January of 2029.
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