State and local community leaders convened at the National Steinbeck Center in downtown Salinas on Friday, June 5, emphasizing the critical role of infrastructure in community development.
Speakers during the Salinas 2026 Infrastructure Summit Conference highlighted the need for public-private partnerships to finance and build essential projects in Salinas and throughout Monterey County.
“Infrastructure is much more than physical assets, infrastructure is the backbone of opportunity,” Salinas Mayor Dennis Donohue said.
Donohue stressed the importance of infrastructure in creating opportunities and retaining talent.
“If we are serious about creating a future where our young people can stay, build careers, raise families and pursue their dreams right here in Salinas, then we must be equally serious about financing the future,” he said. “The question is no longer whether we can afford to invest in infrastructure, the question is whether we can afford not to.”
The city's population is projected to reach more than 175,000 by the year 2035, necessitating additional infrastructure, according to Donohue.
California Transportation Commissioner Bob Tiffany and Executive Director of Transportation California Kiana Valentine discussed California's $216 billion transportation funding shortfall, advocating for a mixed model of fuel taxes and road user charges.
“SB1 has certainly helped us address the shortfall over the years, but as we can see it's not nearly enough to cover the next 10-year period,” Tiffany said.
Senate Bill 1 is a major transportation infrastructure law passed in 2017 that generates more than $5 billion annually. It funds the maintenance and repair of state highways, local roads, bridges and public transit systems by increasing gasoline and diesel taxes as well as vehicle registration fees.
“I think you're going to start seeing projections in two or three years where your gas tax dollars for your basic public works budget start to decline…it's going to translate to fewer projects, fewer maintenance and all of those things,” Valentine said.
Tiffany added that cities must look to be more cost-effective and more cost-efficient in doing projects.
“Time is money. The longer a project takes, the more expensive it is. As a state, we're going to have to address these issues,” he said.
Regionally, major transportation efforts took center stage. Monterey-Salinas Transit (MST), which has had a 49-percent increase of passengers since 2022, outlined projects including a new operations and maintenance facility, relocation of the Sun Street Transit Center and a Bus Rapid Transit study along East Alisal Street and Williams Road to improve mobility and reduce greenhouse gasses.
“We have 110 vehicle trips per day going through Alisal,” said Carl Sedoryk, general manager and CEO of MST. “We have an undefined standard performance of 85 percent on time within five minutes of when the schedule says, since 2022 we haven't hit that standard once in the Alisal, it is just too crowded.”
MST is looking at ways it can get more out of that roadway through upgrading traffic signals, traffic signal coordination and acquisition.
“It could be a $20-$50 million project. We are still in the study stage at this point,” he added.
The Transportation Agency for Monterey County also highlighted progress on the Salinas Rail Extension Project and Safe Routes To School investments to make walking and biking safer for students.
Caltrans identified high collision rates at Spence Road and presented a safety-driven overhaul of the Highway 101 corridor south of Salinas, including near-term median closures and longer-term plans to relocate the Chualar and Abbott interchanges, address dangerous at‑grade railroad crossings and improve local access. The project aims to install temporary barriers by March 1, 2027.
Cal Water's infrastructure improvements include $67.5 million for Salinas, with a focus on main replacements, new wells and storage improvements to ensure reliable service for Salinas’ 127,000 customers.