San Bernardino receives $2.9 million for street improvements

The City of San Bernardino has announced that it will be receiving $2,946,150 from Caltrans to construct raised street medians on a 3.5 mile stretch of E Street between Fairway Drive and 10th Street. The competitive grant, awarded to the City in partnership with Omnitrans, is part of the State’s Local Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP).

“This median project will directly improve vehicle, bus, and pedestrian safety along E Street in San Bernardino,” said Mayor Helen Tran, who also sits on the Omnitrans Board.

The E Street corridor has been identified as high-risk using accident data from the Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System.  Between March 2019 and March 2024, the E Street corridor from Fairway Drive from 10th Street experienced 110 accidents, including two fatalities.

The Federal Highway Administration found the installation of a raised median is effective in reducing the overall crash frequency by about 25% and reducing pedestrian-related crashes by 36% by physically separating opposing directions of traffic and restricting dangerous turning maneuvers, which are both prevalent on E Street.

A similar project installed in 2019 along Hospitality Lane, from E Street to Waterman Avenue, offers a preview of the potential safety benefits for the proposed improvements along E Street.

In the four years prior to the installation of a raised median on Hospitality Lane, there were 42 collisions, 21 of which resulted in injuries.  In the first four years following the median’s installation, the number of collisions dropped to just 23, with only twelve resulting in injuries.

“The Hospitality Lane project clearly showed that adding a raised median to a high traffic corridor reduced the number of accidents,” said Deputy Public Works Director and City Engineer Azzam Jabsheh.

The HSIP award from Caltrans is expected to cover approximately 90% of the project’s $3.2 million total cost with the remaining $250,000 coming from voter approved Measure I funds.

A timeline for the E Street safety improvement project has not been finalized. However, prior to construction beginning, the City will seek input from area businesses, a final design must be completed, and a construction contract must be put out for bid and subsequently awarded.

The Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) is a core federal-aid program whose purpose is to achieve a significant reduction in traffic fatalities and serious injuries on public roads. The current round of funding was authorized through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. California’s share of HSIP funds is split between state highways and local roads.