A LETTER FROM Dear Friends and Stakeholders: On behalf of the Contra Costa Transportation Authority board, I am pleased to present our 2006 Annual Report—reflecting our key accomplishments over the past year, as well as information on our financial activities. In some ways, 2006 marked the beginning of a transition period at the Authority. While we are in the home stretch in terms of completing the work outlined in our 1988 ‘Measure C’ Expenditure Plan, we also began to focus our attention on the preparatory steps necessary to ensure a smooth transition to a new expenditure plan—the one voters approved in 2004 as ‘Measure J’—that we’ll be implementing starting in 2009. On the Measure C front, auxiliary lanes were constructed on I-680 in Danville and San Ramon, facilitating traffic entering and exiting the freeway, thereby improving the flow of traffic and creating a safer travel environment. On Route 4 |
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in East County, six mixed-flow lanes and two carpool lanes were completed in 2006 from Railroad Avenue to Loveridge Road. Work continues on the next widening of this crucial east-west route from Loveridge to Somersville, where the median will have space for a future mass transit option. In addition, the Authority continues its commitment to support transit, bicycling and other alternatives to solo driving, as well as serving as the implementing agency for regional programs such as Transportation for Livable Communities and Lifeline Transportation in Contra Costa. As we enter the final few years of the Measure C program and celebrate the successful delivery of all the projects, we realize Contra Costa has come a long way since 1988. The county’s population has reached the million mark—and the needs for a top-notch transportation system have increased commensurately. And we like to think it’s reflective of the public’s confidence in us that they reauthorized our transportation sales tax and approved—in the form of Measure J—an even more ambitious transportation program to carry the county through to 2034. Looking ahead, in 2006 the Authority set the stage for Measure J implementation by adopting a policy for its financial framework, and authorizing or expanding project development work for some of the major Measure J projects — such as the Caldecott Tunnel, Route 4 East widening from Somersville to Route 160, mass transit expansion in East County beyond West Pittsburg/Bay Point, interchange reconstruction along I-80 in West County, and the I-680 carpool lane/express bus ramps in San Ramon. The Authority is pleased to share its success stories from the past year, and looks forward to further enhancing the quality of life in Contra Costa through improvements to its transportation system.
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