California’s Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017 will generate nearly $183 billion in economic activity and more than 68,200 jobs annually, according to a 62-page analysis conducted by American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) Chief Economist Alison Premo Black.
The act “is not only providing economic benefits for the California economy over the next decade but will also provide infrastructure improvements that will lay the foundation for economic growth for the next generation,” Black said.
The act provides $5 billion annually for the state’s highways and local streets, bridges, and transit systems investments. Funds will help replace 556 bridges and will repair, repave and reconstruct 7,000 lane miles of rural interstate, and more than 18,300 lane miles of urban interstate.
Other benefits, Black said, include new and repaired infrastructure will save businesses, drivers, and transit riders $3.8 billion annually, an average savings of nearly $300 per household.
It also includes provisions for better infrastructure means safer roads. A reduction of highway crashes, fatalities and property damage will save up to $584 million.
Additionally, drivers’ operating costs will fall an average of $818 million annually and a total of $58 billion will be contributed to the gross state product.
The study was commissioned by the California Transit Association, Transportation California, and the California Alliance for Jobs.