Two Butte County infrastructure projects are in line for a combined $59.4 million in state funding, with Oroville's Washington Avenue and Table Mountain Boulevard Complete Streets project recommended for $51.7 million and Paradise's Oliver Curve Community Pathway project recommended for $7.8 million. The recommendations come from California Transportation Commission staff as part of the 2027 Active Transportation Program and still need a final vote before the money is locked in.
The funding recommendations were announced by the Butte County Association of Governments, according to Action News Now. Commission staff released the recommendations, which are scheduled to go before the full commission for consideration and approval on December 3. Until that vote happens, the dollar figures remain recommendations rather than finalized awards.
BCAG Programming Director Ivan Garcia framed the stakes in blunt terms, saying the funding's significance through the competitive process cannot be understated, per the station's report. Garcia also said BCAG looks forward to positive impacts for local communities and regional visitors, language that underscores how central these grants are to the county's broader infrastructure plans.
What the Money Would Build
In Oroville, the recommended $51.7 million would go toward the city's Washington Avenue and Table Mountain Boulevard Complete Streets project, which carries a total project cost of $65.4 million, the same report notes. The City of Oroville describes the planned improvements as covering Washington Avenue between SR-162 (Oro Dam Boulevard) and Montgomery Street, along with Table Mountain Boulevard between Riverview Terrace Drive and County Center Drive — two major north-south routes through the city.
The Oroville corridor work builds on plans first reported by the Chico Enterprise-Record in February 2024, when the city's Public Works Department outlined its goal of establishing the city's first north-to-south pedestrian and bike corridor. A separate Enterprise-Record report from August said Oroville had already secured additional funding for the same Table Mountain Boulevard and Washington Avenue effort, suggesting the project has been assembling its financing in pieces over time.
In Paradise, the recommended $7.8 million would support the Oliver Curve Community Pathway project. The town's project carries a total cost of $9.3 million per the funding recommendation details, though other town records list different totals — the Town of Paradise project page lists the Oliver Curve Pathway Phase I at $14 million, while a Town Council meeting agenda from August lists the project at $13 million. The discrepancy among these figures is not explained in the available records.
How the Scoring Worked
Both Butte County projects cleared the bar required for their funding categories. Oroville's project received an application score of 96 points, while Paradise's Oliver Curve project scored 94 points. The cutoff for the ATP's statewide funding component was 94 points, and the cutoff for the small urban and rural component was 93 points — meaning both local projects exceeded the minimum qualifying scores for their respective categories.
Those scores mattered because competition for this funding cycle was fierce. The 2027 Active Transportation Program received 317 applications from across the state, collectively requesting about $2.9 billion — nearly five times the funding actually available, according to the same report. Caltrans has said ATP Cycle 8 is expected to include about $574 million in combined federal and state funding, a figure that puts the scale of statewide demand into perspective against what Butte County stands to receive.
A Program Built for Walking and Biking
The Active Transportation Program was established in 2013 through Senate Bill 99 and Assembly Bill 101, and it remains the state's only dedicated funding source for active transportation projects. The program is designed to support improvements that encourage walking and bicycling, enhance public health and safety, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and expand transportation opportunities for California communities.
For Butte County, that mission translates into infrastructure meant to expand travel choices and improve safety, accessibility, and regional connections for pedestrians, bicyclists, and other roadway users. Whether Oroville and Paradise actually receive the recommended dollars now hinges on the California Transportation Commission's scheduled vote on December 3, when the full commission will weigh in on the staff-level recommendations.
