The California Transportation Commission (CTC) on Thursday allocated $401 million in new funding to 39 projects that will help strengthen the state’s economy by creating jobs and providing congestion relief for travelers statewide.

“The benefits these projects bring to California are a huge boon to the economy today,” said acting Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty, “and the investment in our transportation system will continue to serve travelers for generations to come.”

Proposition 1B, the 2006 voter-approved transportation bond, will supply $327 million in funds to 10 projects, including $42 million toward the purchase of 42 new passenger rail cars.

They will be put into service on all three state-supported Amtrak California routes – the Capitol Corridor, San Joaquin and Pacific Surfliner.

This supplements $168 million from other sources, including $68 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

To date, the state has allocated more than $11 billion in Proposition 1B funds for transportation purposes statewide.

Highlights of the funding allocations include $21,000 in Lake County for a bridge replacement project on Cole Creek Bridge near Kelseyville; $930,00 for a safety project on that will repave 1.7 miles of Highway 101 near Pepperwood in Humboldt County; and $2.35 million for a project that will reconstruct a metal beam guardrail at 244 locations along Highways 1, 20, 128, 162, 253 and 271 in Mendocino County.