Dear Friend of Transportation
With the March 31, 2011 sunset of Measure M – Orange County voters experienced 20 years of promises made, promises kept. This half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements empowered the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) with local funding to accelerate enhancements to the county’s transportation system.
I’m proud to report that since 1991, Measure M has delivered more than $4 billion in freeway, street, road, and transit improvements and leveraged more than $1.2 billion in additional local, state, and federal funding. The funding resulted in adding 192 freeway lane miles, improving 170 intersections and 38 freeway interchanges, and implementing Metrolink service in Orange County, which now carries the equivalent of one lane of traffic on the I-5 Freeway.
In November 2006, Orange County voters empowered OCTA again with the passage of Measure M2 (M2) by a margin of nearly 70 percent, extending the transportation sales tax for another 30 years, which began April 1, 2011. Several M2 funded transportation projects are already well under way due to the M2 Early Action Plan, which jump-started improvement efforts prior to the start of the M2 sales tax collection.
During this past year, construction began on the SR-57 Northbound Improvement Project, cities and the county received nearly $77.2 million in funds for street repair, rehabilitation and other road improvements, and 950 acres of open space was acquired as part of the Freeway Environmental Mitigation Program. Transit highlights included further expanding Metrolink service and continuing progress on completing safety enhancements to 52 railroad crossings.
Throughout the past 20 years, Measure M has helped transform Orange County into a vibrant economic community and we thank Orange County voters for their vision, trust, and for empowering OCTA to continue improving our transportation system for another 30 years.
Sincerely,
Will Kempton
Chief Executive Officer