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Napolitano Secures Funding to Improve Traffic, Air Quality

July 30, 2010

(Washington D.C.)- Late last night, the U.S. House of Representatives passed their annual transportation funding bill, which contained funding for several local projects submitted by Rep. Grace F. Napolitano.

“These transportation projects are critical for our economic wellbeing,” Napolitano said. “With new buses and faster-flowing traffic, our air will be cleaner, our travel times quicker, and our local economies stronger from new funding and construction. We have many more difficult transportation problems to solve in our area, but federal funds are providing an essential ingredient for increased safety and efficiency.”

The House bill, H.R. 5850, the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2011, passed by a vote of 251 to 167. The bill will now go on to the Senate, where it will be voted on and sent to the President to be signed before any funding will be distributed.

Local Projects:

New Natural Gas/Electric Hybrid Buses. Under the legislation, Montebello Bus Lines and Norwalk Transit will receive $980,000 in federal funds to continue replacing their diesel buses with new natural gas and gas/electric hybrid buses. The old diesel buses are due for replacement, and the new, “green” buses will allow for cleaner air. The two agencies will share the funding based on a formula that takes ridership and service area into account.

Repairing the Rosemead Underpass in Pico Rivera. $450,000 will help make long-term repairs to the Rosemead Underpass in Pico Rivera, where a heavily-used Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail line passes over busy Rosemead Boulevard. In 2004, rainwater from heavy storms began to undermine the sloped concrete walls lining the roadway of the underpass, and the roadway had to be closed for weeks due to structural integrity concerns. Because BNSF railroad claimed the city was responsible, Pico Rivera had to pay for short-term repairs in 2005, but long-term repairs are still urgently needed. Repairs made by the new funding would improve safety for motorists by making the underpass strong enough to withstand even a once-in-one-hundred-years storm.

First Steps Toward New Lanes for I-5 from I-605 north to I-710. One million dollars will fund environmental reports and preliminary studies to expand I-5 to ten lanes between I-605 and I-710. Construction on added lanes has already been completed or is underway on I-5 to the south, and local authorities hope to prevent bottlenecks and speed up the flow of traffic by taking the project further north. Adding lanes will reduce the amount of air pollution and lost time caused by traffic congestion.

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