The California Department of Transportation announced Tuesday it has teamed with the California Department of Housing and Community Development to make it easier to purchase surplus state properties for affordable housing projects.

New Web information — available at www.dot.ca.gov/property or www.hcd.ca.gov — has been established to assist developers in locating these Caltrans-owned properties.

“This joint effort from Caltrans and HCD is a tremendous step toward expanding the availability of land, which is critical to increasing the supply of affordable housing in California,” said Business, Transportation and Housing Agency Secretary Dale E. Bonner. “It’s a great example of how we can make more progress through greater collaboration among our transportation and housing agencies.”

According to a agency news release, Caltrans has been working to identify and dispose of surplus properties originally acquired as part of transportation projects, but that are no longer needed for those purpose.

“Housing, as well as transportation, is crucial to California’s future,” said Caltrans Director Will Kempton, who visited Eureka Wednesday. “It is appropriate that we take advantage of every opportunity to increase the supply of affordable housing.”

“As a result of our collaboration with Caltrans, we are looking forward to more affordable housing throughout the state,” said HCD Director Lynn Jacobs. “With the anticipated growth in California, it is essential that state agencies work in partnership to help build California’s vibrant economy.”

The state’s population is expected to grow by 12 million by 2025, the release stated — five million in the greater Los Angeles area, more than two million in the San Diego region and 3.2 million in the 13-county Central Valley.