Initially, UC Berkeley/PATH executed a three-year funding agreement (and subsequently a two-year extension) with Caltrans HQ for research, project development and planning (including hiring staff), technical specifications, outreach, and documentation. Moving forward, a new contract is required each year with specific deliverables, in order to keep the project on track. The goal of Caltrans HQ was to develop a pilot with processes and products that would be used in other corridors in California. Therefore, the contract contained funding for research and development that would not normally be present in future corridor funding.
Funding for freeway improvements
Funding for the freeway improvements is the responsibility of Caltrans. In the case of the I-210 Pilot, Caltrans District 7, in cooperation with Caltrans HQ, submitted a Project Initiation Document (PID) for SHOPP funding for the freeway improvements. The funding was approved for $24.8 million for the first and second phases of the project. The funds will be used to install 47 transportation management system elements and to upgrade 20.22 miles of fiber optics and 163 transportation management system elements.
Funding for arterial improvements
Funding for the arterial improvements is the responsibility of the local jurisdictions and transit operators, either individually or as a group. For the I-210 Pilot, the cities, County, and transit agencies submitted a joint application to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority ("LA Metro") for the 2015 Call for Projects. The team requested $6.7 million for traffic signal improvements, controller and firmware improvements, detection upgrades, transit interfaces, etc. The project was able to use $4.8 million of the SHOPP funding for the 20% local match requirement, which consisted of elements adjacent to the local arterials. Funding for the Call comes from a variety of local, state, and federal sources such as Proposition C funds, Regional Improvement Program (RIP) funds, and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ) funds.
ICM Deployment Planning Grant
In early 2015, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation awarded the I-210 Pilot a Phase I planning grant in the amount of $200,000. The objective of the Deployment Planning Grant program is to advance ICM planning, development, and deployment efforts. The specific purpose is to provide funding support for the application of ICM Knowledge and Technology Transfer (KTT) products, including ICM Implementation Guidance; Analysis, Modeling, and Simulation (AMS) Guidance; Model Systems Engineering documents; and technology transfer activities such as technical support workshops and peer-to-peer support.
As the lead agency, Caltrans prepared the Deployment Planning Grant and will also be overseeing and monitoring the grant funds. The Connected Corridors team wrote some of the sections and coordinated the Letters of Support.
Consultant assistance
For the LA Metro Call for Projects application, Connected Corridors hired a consultant (System Metrics Group) who has experience writing the Call applications and who also consulted with Metro on re-drafting the Call guidelines. The Connected Corridors team wrote some of the application's sections and coordinated the Letters of Support. The letters were customized for each agency to provide specific information on how the grants would help the agency and support local initiatives and priorities.