Two bills signed by California Gov. Gray Davis (D) this month provide key steps toward some major road and rail projects. Davis signed a bill Sept. 18 transferring ownership of 10 miles of toll roads in the median of State Route 91 in Orange County from the private franchise holder, California Private Transportation Co., to the Orange County Transportation Authority. The bill also eliminates a controversial "noncompete" clause in CPTC's franchise agreement that has stymied hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of projects on S.R. 91 in both Orange and neighboring Riverside counties (ENR 5/6 p. 18). A 700-mile, $25-billion high-speed rail network also got a boost with Davis's Sept. 19 approval of a $10-billion bond issue for the November 2004 ballot. The measure would provide state funding for the San Francisco- to-Los Angeles segment and $1 billion for urban and commuter rail.