Federal stimulus dollars have begun trickling into Santa Barbara County through infrastructure improvements aimed to heal the economy.

The Public Works Department was the first recipient in the county to receive these dollars, which amount to $6.3 million. The department is currently sinking $2.6 million on road-rehabilitation and bridge-maintenance projects. The remaining funds will be used for similar projects slated to begin by October.

In the Santa Ynez Valley, work was completed last week on two rural bridges, one on Paradise Road and another on Happy Canyon Road. Waterproof sealants were put on the bridges to fill in cracks and prevent corrosion from water.

The contract was awarded to Granite Construction for the work, which allowed the contractor to rehire workers. A project on a mile long stretch of pavement on Paradise Road started July 21. The road will be grinded down and leveled with new stress-absorbing asphalt, which will cost about $200,000.

“The stimulus money is a good shot in the arm to get us started with deferred maintenance that needs to get done,” said Dace Morgan, deputy director for Public Works transportation division.

In late winter, workers will begin a month-long project to widen Roblar Avenue and Refugio Street with safety shoulders to reduce accidents and congestion, Morgan said.

Elsewhere in the county, Public Works has hired contractors to install almost 4,000 feet of sidewalk and repair nearly 2,000 feet in the unincorporated areas of Goleta, Vandenberg Village and Orcutt. Sidewalks will also be made more usable for the disabled, with 21 new curbs ramps planned for installation. The $500,000-plus contract was awarded to D-Kal Engineering, which will have 21 employees on the project.

“This money came at a great time for us,” Morgan said. “We’re looking at creating jobs and putting folks back to work. Though the stimulus money falls short of the $230 million in the department’s unfunded needs, it’s a starting point, she added. “It’s not very often that you see large sums of federal money that become available for this kind of work,” she said.

Sixty percent of the county’s lane miles are in “a state of pavement preservation,” she said, referring to a system the county uses to prioritize funding to protect good quality roads before they deteriorate. “This new funding adds 10 miles to that program,” she said. “It lets us chip away at our road problems.”

Online information is available by clicking on the national recovery icon on the county homepage at www.CountyofSB.org.

Reach Jeremy Foster at jfoster@syvjournal.com.