California will be receiving nearly $150 million to construct over 9,200 electric vehicle charging ports throughout the state, reports Los Angeles Times.
During an event in downtown Los Angeles last week, Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt announced that the state would be receiving the funds, which come from the Department of Transportation as part of a $521-million infrastructure package divided between 29 states, eight tribes, and D.C.
The California Department of Transportation will receive most of the funds, with $102 million going toward building charging and hydrogen fueling stations along freight corridors in California, Oregon, and Washington.
The rest of the funds will be divided among different cities and tribes, with plans to place over 1,250 accessible EV charging stations in Los Angeles, an EV charging hub along the U.S. Route 395 corridor, and charging stations along U.S. Route 50.
Bhatt said that the plans would likely take around a year and a half to implement. With range anxiety being a roadblock for EV adoption, though, he added that an increase in charging access may help ease those fears for consumers.
A day after the announcement, Governor Gavin Newsom shared that, as of now, California currently has more than 150,000 EV chargers across the state.
“We’re putting on that infrastructure now ... and then we let the market forces determine whether consumers want to buy EVs,” said Bhatt.
