Projects & Programs

At SANDAG, we connect people, places, and innovative ideas with solutions to benefit everyone in our unique and diverse communities. We strive to improve the lives of all residents in the region through our many transportation, environmental, and equity-focused initiatives. The impact of our projects and programs can be as simple as making it easier for people to walk or ride their bikes or as sophisticated as planning for the region’s entire future transportation network. We are caretakers of the region and stewards of sustainability and the environment.

Project Lifecycle

Once the Board decides to invest in a project, it can take years to complete. Throughout the process, we solicit and incorporate public feedback. This is the typical lifecycle of a project:

• Preplan: In considering a project, we evaluate if we are the right agency to do it and, as appropriate, add it to the Regional Plan, Budget, and RTIP.
• Plan: We study ways to accomplish the project and how it will impact the environment. We apply for funding and solicit public input.
• Design: We work out all the details to make the project a reality, apply for funding, solicit public input, and award contracts.
• Implement: We construct the project or implement the program and open it to the public.
• Operate: While we operate and maintain some programs and projects, we hand over most programs and projects to MTS, NCTD, or Caltrans.

Funding

The many projects we work on require millions of dollars to plan and build. We receive funding from a variety of local, state, and federal sources, and secure matching state and federal investments by leveraging  TransNet—the local half cent sales tax administered by SANDAG to deliver key infrastructure improvements throughout the San Diego region.