Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan was joined by the mayors of the cities of Laguna Niguel, Buena Park and Santa Ana on Monday, Nov. 15, to celebrate the passing of the $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which was officially signed into law by President Joe Biden on Monday.  

Speaking at Irvine City Hall on Monday, Khan said that statewide, over the next five years, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will bring more than $30 billion in federal funding that will be used to improve and repair aspects of transportation infrastructure across California.  

Locally, in Irvine, Khan said this federal funding will be used toward the city’s carbon-neutral goals, including EV stations, and addressing gaps in internet connectivity. 

“After more than a year of the devastating effects of COVID-19, it is time to rebuild our community, city and county,” Khan said Monday. “I intend on making Irvine more resilient than ever by focusing on the repair and rebuild of our roads and bridges with a focus on climate change mitigation – specifically our city goal of carbon neutrality by 2030 – and helping connect every resident to reliable high-speed internet.”

Laguna Niguel Mayor Fred Minagar, a civil engineer, said he wants to improve California’s transportation infrastructure grade — which is currently has  a “C grade” rating.

“As a civil engineer, I clearly understand that having a letter grade of ‘C’ on California’s infrastructure report card is nothing to brag about,” he said. “Any investment in the roadway infrastructure will inevitably help in creating more jobs, economic vitality, improving mobility, and repairing our local roadways and bridges.”

Khan added that she expects the latest infrastructure bill to aid Irvine’s future growth in a variety of ways. On Monday, Khan introduced the Complete Street Program, a program that will be made possible from federal funding from the trillion-dollar Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. 

Specifically, the Complete Streets Program will help Irvine create more diverse ways to connect the city to other neighboring cities through the use of trails and public transportation. Specifically, federal funding from the infrastructure bill will be used to repair roadways and build more bridges that will ideally connect cities across Orange County.  

“That’s very critical when it comes to fulfilling the needs of biking and also for public transportation and pedestrians, and that’s really where we can work regionally with other cities — and get people out of their cars,” she said. “You can’t get people out of their cars until you have a robust transportation plan.”

In August, Senator Dave Min presented the city with more than $14 million in funding for the completion of the Jeffrey Open Space Trail that will ultimately connect Irvine to the coastline by trail. 

The city of Irvine estimates construction will begin next summer with final completion slated for 2023, according to Irvine Public Information Officer Kristina Perrigoue. 

While it is unclear how soon Irvine will see federal funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act be put to work locally, Khan said there are already areas of Irvine that would greatly benefit from transportation infrastructure upgrades.

“I’d love to see improvement in the Irvine Business Complex,” Khan said. “We’ve got a lot of our businesses, corporations and our residents — anyone that’s gone up and down that part of Jamboree Road knows what the traffic looks like.”

Speaking with Irvine Weekly on Monday, Khan said the traffic on Jamboree Road between Interstate-5 and Newport Beach could benefit from transportation infrastructure improvements. 

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