Fontana to get $15 million from Infrastructure Law to build sidewalks around Etiwanda High, improve roads

Fontana will receive a $15 million grant from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help build safer sidewalks and roads.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Reps. Pete Aguilar and Norma Torres visited Fontana on Sept. 8 to to see the plans for the infrastructure funds.

"This marks a significant step toward improving our infrastructure," Fontana Mayor Acquanetta Warren said in a statement. "Fontana is growing fast, we must work together to be successful."

Part of the grant will help build a multi-use trail and sidewalk network so the 3,500 students at nearby Etiwanda High School can safely walk or bike to school. The funds will also help rebuild two primary roadway corridors near State Route 210 and Interstate 15 and add lanes, protected left turn lanes, roundabouts, bus turnouts, streetlights, more than four miles of bike lanes, and sidewalks. The improvements are aimed at shortening commute times, expanding transportation options and making them safer, while reducing carbon emissions in the area.

Fontana will also put some of the funds toward improving transportation across 536 acres of the Westgate Development. The project is aimed expanding access to essential services and economic opportunities for nearby neighborhoods, which is anticipated to create more than 7,500 jobs in the area and spur economic development.