Central OC Times

ANAHEIM, CA — On June 26, Representative Lou Correa (D-Anaheim) and Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken announced over $5 million in federal funding for the City of Anaheim for the construction of 5 major transportation projects throughout the city that have significant local and regional impact, and improve transportation safety, equity, and access for local residents. This funding is a direct result of Democrats’ passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) last Congress, which Rep. Correa helped get signed into law.  

“We need to create good-paying jobs, and keep our local economy growing, while assuring that traffic congestion does not hurt our local quality of life,” Rep. Correa said. “This funding will redesign key components of Anaheim’s transportation infrastructure to ensure that growing tourism does not create traffic congestion. I’m  grateful to work alongside our local partners, especially Mayor Aitken and members of the Anaheim City Council, to ensure that Anaheim continues to get the federal support it deserves, for all those who work in Anaheim and call Anaheim home.”  

“In years to come, Anaheim’s riverfront will be the place to connect with nature and enjoy new entertainment and fun around Honda Center,” Mayor Ashleigh Aitken said. “It all starts with this funding, which clears the way for new trails and bridges linking the public transit of ARTIC with Honda Center, the riverfront and all that is set to come. As Anaheim mayor, I have prioritized working with our federal partners and thank Rep. Correa for his continual commitment to his hometown.”  

Specifically, the funding will be used to develop final design and construction documents for five high-impact and high-visibility active transportation connections to the regional rail/bus transit center in Anaheim: two non-motorized multi-modal bridges; an elevated “highline” trail; a major trail extension; and the realignment of an engineered riverbank to separate high-speed bicycle and pedestrian traffic.  

The five key elements of the project include the following:

• Highline Trail (ARTIC and Meadow Park Connection) – an elevated pedestrian pathway linking rail, bus, future transit solutions at ARTIC and adjacent mobility hubs to the Katella Avenue Multimodal Bridge for easier, safer access;  
• Katella Multimodal Bridge (and Honda Center Connectivity) – a non‐motorized bridge over Katella Avenue (a major arterial roadway), creating a safe, separated connection between ARTIC and the Honda Center, parking, and the ocV!BE private development and reducing traffic congestion;
• Riverwalk Realignment (Trail Separation) – restructuring of the engineered banks of the Santa Ana River in front of ARTIC to separate high speed bicycle traffic along the Santa Ana River Trail from pedestrian traffic, improve active transportation connections to/from ARTIC, and reduce auto dependency;  
• Riverwalk Trail Extension – a 0.9‐mile multimodal trail extension from Katella Avenue to Anaheim Coves and Ball Road to create a direct connection for residents north of the Honda Center to ARTIC; and;
• Santa Ana River Multimodal Bridge – a pedestrian/bicyclist bridge over the Santa Ana River that will remove pedestrian and bicycle traffic from the current motorized bridge, creating a safer, more accessible route for multi‐county users of the Mountains‐to‐Ocean Santa Ana River trail.

This funding was made available through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grant program for 2023—a program that was birthed after signing of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, that Rep. Correa helped pass into law last year. The popular program helps communities around the country carry out projects with significant local or regional impact.

You can learn more about these five projects HERE.

Original source can be found here.