Caltrans to use $63 million to fix and install EV chargers at 300 sites

California Construction News staff writer

The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded Caltrans more than $63 million to fix and install more than 1,000 chargers at 300 sites statewide.

“Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, California will receive nearly $64 million to improve EV charging stations across the state,” said Senator Alex Padilla. “Accelerating the adoption of an electric vehicle powered future requires a strong, reliable, accessible charging network across the state.”

Crews will replace broken charging stations and install additional chargers to meet new federal standards for public charging infrastructure

“This funding will allow California to continue to lead the nation in zero-emission-vehicle adoption, increasing reliability and cutting planet-warming pollution,” said California State Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin. “We want to thank the Biden-Harris Administration, Sen. Alex Padilla, and the state’s congressional delegation for supporting the expansion of a charging network throughout the state while combatting climate change.”

The EVC RAA program is part of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program and made funding available for states to repair or replace EV charging stations identified as “temporarily unavailable.”

For the application, Caltrans worked with EV charging providers to develop a list of chargers to fix and upgrade to national charging standards within the program timeline. The funding will support the replacement of both Level 2 and DC fast chargers. Caltrans will partner with the CEC to implement this funding, building on the agencies’ partnership to deliver the NEVI Formula Program.

California currently has by far the most electric chargers in the nation with more than 42,000 public charging ports.