$102 million in federal funds secured for West Coast emission-free truck corridor

California officials have announced they've secured $102 million in federal funds to use toward reducing truck emissions along the heavily travelled Interstate 5 as well as other major trucking corridors through California, Oregon and Washington.

The "West Coast Truck Charging and Fueling Corridor Project" is meant to speed up the adoption of zero-emission vehicles in the trucking and logistics industries, according to Caltrans . The new federal funding, announced last week, comes from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021.

The funds will be used to build publicly accessibly electric vehicle charging stations and hydrogen fueling stations "Interstate 5 and other key freight corridors," Caltrans representatives said in an written statement . Construction is scheduled to begin in 2026.

"These stations will support the emissions-free movement of goods locally, regionally, nationally and internationally," the statement said.

Gov. Gavin Newsom praised the funding and thanked the Biden administration for its aid in helping clean up the state's transportation infrastructure.

"This latest federal funding is another opportunity for America’s exports to look west for moving freight while fighting our climate crisis," he said.

How much air pollution do trucks produce?

Trucks make up about 6% of the vehicle on California roads, but account for more than 35% of transportation-generated nitrogen oxides, which produce smog, as well a 25% of the state's "on-road greenhouse gas emissions," according to Caltrans.

Communities located along major truck corridors suffer from disproportionate health issues, officials said.

"This grant funding supports corridors that have some of the worst air pollution in the nation," the statement added.

The Interstate 5 corridor connects five metropolitan areas, as well as links the Los Angeles, Long Beach, the Port of Seattle and the Port of Tacoma.

In addition to supporting seaborn shipping, "Interstate 5 and nearby border highways are also critical to the movement of freight at the borders with Mexico and Canada," the Caltrans statement said.

Electrifying the trucking industry

The new funding will have a noticeable impact across the state, California Energy Commissioner Patty Monahan said.

"With this level of federal funding, truckers can travel from San Diego to Seattle in zero-emission trucks," she said. "By zeroing out harmful pollution in this critical sector with zero-emission trucks, we can bring cleaner air to the communities that need it the most."

The new electric and hydrogen infrastructure supports California's existing Advanced Clean Trucks standard , which requires a growing percentage of new truck sold in the state to be zero-emission vehicles, Caltrans officials said. As of 2023, one in six new medium- and heavy-duty trucks were zero-emission vehicles, two years ahead of schedule.

By 2036, all new medium- and heavy-duty trucks in the state will be required to be zero-emission vehicles under the state's Advanced Clean Fleets standard .

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: $102 million in federal funds secured for West Coast emission-free truck corridor