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The San Bernardino County Transportation Authority is recommending an extension of Measure I, the half-cent sales tax that went into effect in 1990.
Earlier this month, the authority’s board of directors voted unanimously to ask the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors to place the extension on the Nov. 3 ballot, according to a statement on the authority’s website.
If passed, Measure I – which was extended in 2004 – will remain in place through 2040, and will last until voters decided to to end it.
Since it began, Measure I has been the county’s primary source of funding for transportation projects. Beside helping to create an estimated 57,000 jobs, Measure I helped pay for the completion and extension of Interstate 210, the construction and expansion of the Metrolink San Bernardino Line, widening the 71 Freeway and upgrades on Interstate 15 through Cajon Pass, among other projects.
“The success of Measure I is visible in every corner of San Bernardino County,” said Rick Denison, president of the transportation authority, in the statement. “It is hard to imagine what this county would look like without improvements realized by this critical investment.”
