By SDCN Editor
San Diego, CA–White House Senior Advisor and Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental AffairsTom Perez met with SANDAG, the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, Caltrans, and other officials Thursday to highlight the Biden-Harris Administration’s investments in major infrastructure projects in the San Diego region.
Perez also visited some of the project sites benefiting from the historic federal funding provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the American Rescue Plan, and other recent initiatives.
“I commend the leadership of SANDAG, the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, and Caltrans for the great work they are doing on the construction of the new Terminal 1 and the LOSSAN rail corridor. They are modeling how to provide good union jobs and transformational economic opportunity,” Director Perez said.
SANDAG recently received funding for a planning study through the Federal Railroad Administration’s Rail Crossing Elimination program, which was funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The award will support a planning study to examine eleven rail crossings for separating rail traffic from the street network along the Los-Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) Rail Corridor and will result in recommended improvements for each crossing between Old Town and downtown San Diego.
Transportation officials said the existing at-grade crossings in this corridor, including Taylor Street, which Perez visited, are ill-suited to today’s busy, urban environment, leading to numerous preventable fatalities and injuries.
Another project highlighted during the visit was the San Diego International Airport Terminal 1 project. The San Diego County Regional Airport Authority’s $3.4 billion project will replace Terminal 1 with a larger, more efficient terminal. The New T1 project will offer up to 30 gates – 11 more than the existing Terminal 1. It will feature more gate-area seating, restaurants, and shops, as well as an expansive security-screening checkpoint with more lanes and a host of energy-efficiency upgrades. The first phase is scheduled to open in late summer 2025.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to host Director Perez and his team at San Diego International Airport and give them a close-up look at the construction of the New T1,” said Kim Becker, President and CEO of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority. “None of this would be possible without the support of our Congressional delegation in Washington, D.C., which has helped us secure $304 million in federal grants to date for the New T1 project and related infrastructure.”
The project will also include a new parking structure with more than 5,000 parking spots directly in front of the new terminal and a new on-airport access road that will remove up to 45,000 cars per day from Harbor Drive.
The Airport Authority has also set aside space between the terminals for a transit station that could connect to a project chosen by the regional transportation planning agencies. SANDAG staff presented a new alternative to the airport board.
“Through the vision and infrastructure investments the Biden-Harris Administration has done in San Diego, we have received unprecedented federal funding to upgrade and modernize our transportation infrastructure here in San Diego,” said SANDAG and San Diego County Supervisor Chairwoman Nora Vargas. “These vital investments, made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will bolster various transportation enhancements throughout our region, including our projects on the nation’s second-busiest passenger rail corridor, the LOSSAN rail corridor.”
Officials say the region is committed to bringing more investments to move the San Diego region forward.
