SANDAG Approves $1.3B Budget, Highlighting Major Tech Projects

The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) has published its budget for FY 2026, offering an inside look at some of the technology priorities for the near term.

The organization, which is perhaps best classified as a special district, serves as the Metropolitan Planning Organization and Regional Transportation Planning Agency for about 36 tribal, regional and local governments across the greater San Diego area.

Its operating budget, published and approved May 9, outlines $1.3 billion across several program areas and 204 total projects for the coming fiscal year. While some of the projects are related to transportation, housing and toll operations, others have technological components that are in the works or will be soon.

While its unclear how much of the following projects will fall to consultants and contractors, they are worth keeping an eye on for vendors in these areas.

An example of one upcoming opportunity relates to the Automated Regional Justice Information System (ARJIS) project, the criminal justice enterprise network used by more than 50 local, state and federal agencies. Upcoming work on the project will include “the pursuit and implementation of advanced artificial intelligence solutions,” and a “focus on developing, monitoring, and maintaining that ARJIS Enterprise system, encompassing databases, networks, infrastructure, and applications,” the budget document reads.

Project tasks for the upcoming year include infrastructure, network and mobile maintenance; application development and software licensing; and other professional consulting services. “Additionally, ARJIS will advance new applications and migrate its database and network environment from on-premises systems to cloud-based solutions to ensure scalability, security and innovation,” the budget document also notes.

The budget includes more than $1.44 million for the infrastructure and network maintenance, $545,318 for software licenses, and $326,000 for professional services related to ARJIS.

In addition, the organization is continuing its data science, analytics and modeling efforts, which include decision-making resources related to transportation modeling; demographic, economic and land use analysis and forecasting; geographic information systems; survey research; performance monitoring; and data dissemination across partner agencies.

The budget includes more than $1.1 million for major updates to the travel model Activity-Based Model 3 (ABM3) which includes a software platform upgrade; $664,000 for surveys and applied research and dashboards; and $100,000 for regional forecasting and estimates.

Another area of interest is technological support for the State Route 125 toll operations. This project includes more than $3.6 million to complete the transition to the new Regional Tolling System; $14.5 million for maintenance of the SR 125 revenue and accounting system (an access portal is required under federal regulation); and some $5.36 million for customer service and call center efficiencies.

The Motorist Aid Call Box Program, meanwhile, is seeing $2.78 million for ongoing maintenance, operation, and reporting for the motorist aid system. Future activities outlined in the budget document include improvements to and audits of the call center operations.

These are only a portion of the projects SANDAG has oversight of in the coming year. Links to the full budget document and other resources can be found below.

Deep Dive Resources:
FY 2026 | SANDAG Program Budget
SANDAG — 2025 Regional Plan