What California will get from the $1.2 trillion infrastructure, jobs act?

OAKLAND, Calif. - President Joe Biden on Monday signed the Infrastructure and Jobs Act into law, with several Bay Area political leaders in attendance.

While the process for allocating the funds to local projects has not yet begun, we do know how much money California will get as a state, under the plan over the next five years.

It would include $25 billion for highways, $4 billion for bridge repair and improvements, $9.45 billion for public transit, $100 million for improved broadband access for the estimated half a million Californians who don't have access to broadband internet. 

Under the plan, the White House estimates about one out of every three Californians would qualify for federal assistance to pay for internet access. California would also receive $84 million to spend on wildfire protection, $3.5 billion to upgrade water systems and remove lead pipes, and $1.5 billion for infrastructure development at California airports.

"This legislation is going to change the nature of transportation in America," said District 3 Democratic Congressman John Garamendi, whose district includes Vacaville, Fairfield, Davis, and parts of Lake County.

RELATED: Biden's $1.85T spending package: What's in, what's out as House nears vote

Garamendi was on the negotiating committee for the Infrastructure bill and was one of five co-sponsors of the bill in the House.

He said some of the projects that could get federal funding include the current expansion of the Interstate 80 to I-680 Cordelia junction, an expansion of I-80 through Vacaville to Davis, as well as improvements to the Capitol Corridor Amtrak system to make the passenger train schedule more consistent.

"For the Bay Area itself, we're looking at a significant amount of money available for the BART system and local transit systmes. All of the buses and transit systems that are now in place, will be electrified," he said, adding: "There will be money in this bill for the electrification of school buses."

That is one of the spending projects San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said he would like to see: federal funds to convert or replace the city's 19 school districts' buses with electric vehicles.

Liccardo was invited to the President's signing ceremony at the White House Monday afternoon. 

In a statement to KTVU he said, "The passage of bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act emphasizes President Joe Biden’s climate leadership and Congress’ commitment to be the federal partners that cities need to usher in a greener future."

"We've really underfunded infrastructure in this country, now, for the past two decades," said San Jose State University political science chair Garrick Percival. "It's getting harder and harder, as illustrated with this bill, to members of both parties to agree on an infrastructure package. But it does represent a big investment. You could argue it should be even bigger."

Percival said even though the process of negotiating the bill was challenging, President Biden and Democrats should consider this a political win - and so should the public.

"It's a sign that we still have parts of our government system at the federal level working, at least some of the time. It's very hard to get these bills passed," he said.