A permanent home for Orcutt’s library, extended carpool lanes between Santa Barbara and Ventura, and renovations of local parks were among projects to receive federal funding under a recently approved spending package.
Congressman Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, said that nearly $16.7 million would go to Santa Barbara County projects under the omnibus spending package approved after months of work.
“With these funds, we will be able to make critical upgrades that will reduce traffic, renovate public spaces, and improve access to food and clean water across the Central Coast,” Carbajal said.
It included $7 million for construction of one of two remaining sections of carpool lane expansion on Highway 101 between Santa Barbara and Ventura. Once completed, the carpool sections will complete 30 continuous miles of three-lane traffic between Ventura and Goleta.
Construction of the remaining high occupancy vehicle, or HOV, lane sections is scheduled to begin in March and be done by summer 2026.
“This much-needed funding is essential for the high-priority regional project,” said Marjie Kirn, executive director of Santa Barbara County Association of Governments. “With these funds, we can look forward to seeing the reinvestment of taxpayer dollars go to safety and congestion relief that will have a significant positive impact on the economy, inter-regional bus service efficiencies, and quality of life for countless residents and visitors alike across our community.”
About $2 million will help fund the acquisition and retrofit of a new building to serve as an upgrade location for the Orcutt Branch Library.
The library leases space in Old Town Orcutt, and the facility is no longer adequate to serve the growing community, the largest unincorporated area in the county.
“Funding for a permanent library and community center will greatly benefit the residents in and around Orcutt,” county Fourth District Supervisor Bob Nelson said.
Parks and public spaces also benefited with $1.5 million to help fund the renovation of Dwight Murphy Field in Santa Barbara, including a new 36,000-square-foot playground.
Costs of the project, for which construction is expected to begin as early as next summer, are shared by the City of Santa Barbara, the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation and private donors.
Lompoc’s Pioneer Park renovation project will receive nearly $1.3 million to help pay for construction of a new playground and baseball fields.
Federal funds secured by Carbajal would cover roughly a third of the expected cost, with additional funds provided by the City of Lompoc and Community Development Block Grants.
Other projects set to get funding include:
— $1.5 million to support the retrofitting of the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County’s new warehouse in Goleta. Once completed, the warehouse will have the capacity to store more than 750,000 pounds of food. Retrofit construction on the facility is estimated to be completed in June.
— $1,384,040 to help Santa Barbara County stabilize roughly 975 feet of railing roadway on San Marcos Road, which served as a key fire suppression and emergency access road during closures of Highway 154. Funding will also help restore embankments and shoulders that are prone to landslides and other roadway failures.
— $1 million to support construction and equipment needs of Marian Regional Medical Center’s Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB/GYN) Residency Program Clinic in Santa Maria. The approved funds cover part of the costs associated with the construction of a new 8,700-square-foot clinic for the OB-GYN clinic.
— $500,000 to support the construction of the Santa Maria Japanese Community Center to honor the original Japanese settlers to the Santa Maria Valley. The 10,000-square-foot facility would feature memorabilia documenting the lives of the Issei first-generation immigrants, part of the 7-acre Smith-Enos House project supported by the City of Santa Maria and local community groups.
— $500,000 to help water districts reliant on Lake Cachuma to respond to record drought by supporting an emergency pumping facility project that is needed to allow Lake Cachuma’s water to continue supporting its surrounding regions.
Lake Cachuma provides more than 70% of the water supply to 200,000 residents of Goleta, Santa Barbara, Montecito and Carpinteria, but record low levels in the reservoir make normal gravity-feed methods of extracting water difficult.
— $2 million will go to the Guadalupe Union School District to support the expansion of a planned early childhood learning center for preschool and pre-kindergarten students, according to Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California.