Highway 180 Expansion Helps the Entire County: Magsig<\/p>\n
Supervisor Magsig said having adequate regional money set aside covers expansion projects that benefit the entire county. He said projects such as connecting Highway 180 to Interstate 5 and widening Millerton Road need funding.<\/p>\n
\u201cI recognize that needs have changed, but to pretty much completely eliminate regional projects I think is short sighted, and a lot more money does need to be put into a project that will benefit the whole county and connect our fifteen cities,\u201d he told GV Wire.<\/p>\n
Parlier Mayor Alma Beltran and chair of the Fresno Council of Governments, however, said no new regional projects have been proposed. She said the plan put forth by the steering committee prioritizes road repairs and public transit projects the public wants. She said the current proposal favoring city allocations provides what leaders need to fix roadways.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is why we decided to take more from the regional because if there\u2019s no projects, that money will sit there for years, possibly 30 years,\u201d Beltran said. \u201cWe don\u2019t know what\u2019s to come in the future, but we don\u2019t want to have money sitting there when other communities, especially rural communities, and other projects, can benefit from it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Why Hasn\u2019t 180 West Been Completed?<\/p>\n
The regional projects are taken on by both the county and CalTrans, typically, said Mohammad Alimi, division manager of the Fresno County Public Works and Planning Department.<\/p>\n
In the past, regional projects included bridges, county roads, and perhaps most notably Highways 180 and 41.<\/p>\n
The Highway 180 plan, with its $300 million price tag, will have accumulated anywhere between $75 million to $100 million by the end of Measure C in 2027, said Robert Phipps executive director of the Fresno Council of Governments in an email.<\/p>\n
With the project lagging its funding goals, about $46 million has been redirected to other projects, including passing lanes on state routes 33, 180, and 198.<\/p>\n
Money also went to widening State Route 145 north of Whitesbridge Avenue, Phipps said. The remaining money will cover contingencies on those projects and others in the rural Measure C program, including Highway 41 near Kings County.<\/p>\n
Beltran said holding money for major projects keeps it from being used for other projects.<\/p>\n
\u201cMendota could have used it, Kerman, Huron, all that west side that is in dire need for the funding for those roads,\u201d Beltran said.<\/p>\n
Magsig, however, said finishing Highway 180 connects west side cities similarly to how Highway 180 East provided better connectivity to Sanger.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy continuing 180 west, it allows for those west side cities like Firebaugh, Mendota, Kerman to all be able to be connected just like the east side cities,\u201d Magsig said.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Measure-C-Allocation-Comparison-Fresno-County.jpg\")
An allocation comparison looks at different proposals for how to spend a future Measure C tax. (Fresno County)
\nFresno County Needs Future Transportation Options: Bertken<\/p>\n
The steering committee\u2019s proposal commits 25% to public transit. Another 4% for \u201cinnovation\u201d is limited to transit projects, so the total allocation is closer to 29%, said Mike Leonardo, former Fresno County Transportation Authority Chair.<\/p>\n
Kay Bertken, president of the League of Women Voters of Fresno and a member of the steering committee, said the a 30-year tax plan needs to provide transit options into the future.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re talking about 2057. They would like to see a community that is not without options to the individual vehicle. We would like to look like other communities in this state, other large cities that have devoted money, time, resources, planning to having a really robust public transit system,\u201d Bertken said.<\/p>\n
Surveys done by Transportation 4 All \u2014 a coalition group that received substantial representation on the steering committee \u2014 show high demand for public transit.<\/p>\n
Bertken said that improving public transit would increase ridership from today\u2019s low numbers. Others have said as the population ages, dependence on public transit will increase.<\/p>\n