Contra Costa County District III Supervisor Mary N. Piepho has announced that the Metropolitan Transportation Commission has granted $10 million for the Vasco Safety Improvement Project. Construction is currently estimated to begin in the summer of 2010.

Vasco Road has become a major commuter thoroughfare, serving as an alternative to the congested I-680 and SR-4 corridors, and has been a top priority for Piepho since her first term in office. The new allocation of funds comes in response to an earlier request for funding to support the safety project.

The funding is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. In addition to the federal stimulus funds, the project will be funded with Proposition 1B funds, developer fees and a federal earmark from the City of Brentwood. The funding will be used to build the project’s first phase, located in the Brushy Peak area. A 1-mile concrete barrier will be raised and a southbound 1-mile passing lane will be lengthened to form a continuous passing lane of 5½ miles.

Both phases of the project will improve safety on Vasco’s Brushy Peak section, which has historically seen the highest concentration of severe collisions, although community and public safety efforts have culminated in more than two years of zero fatalities on Vasco Road.

For more information, call Piepho’s office at 925-240-7260.