Bono Fights to Fund Local Transportation Projects

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Congresswoman Mary Bono (CA-45) is pleased to announce the passage of the Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (TEA-LU) today in the United States House of Representatives which includes funding for several critical local transportation priorities.   The final bill provides funding for road and transit projects across the nation through 2009.

 

"I am extremely pleased that TEA-LU will provide crucial funding for several transportation projects of great importance to the safety of our community," said Congresswoman Bono.  "In a tight fiscal year, it has been challenging to secure funding for deserving projects and I am pleased that Chairman Young understood the value of these projects for the 45th district and funded them in the final bill," added Bono.  

 

Congresswoman Bono was able to secure $4.5 million for overpass construction on Highway 86 at Ave 66, which was one of her top funding priorities.  Known as the NAFTA Highway, Highway 86 handles more than 2,000 large trucks daily, serving as a major economic pathway that connects the economies of the United States and Mexico.  Combined with rapid population growth and heavy travel in the Coachella Valley, the increased pace of the truck traffic has stressed the two-lane road's infrastructure to the limit.  The increase in truck traffic and other activity has led to immediate and pressing safety concerns that include a high-fatality rate at intersections along Highway 86, according to Bono.

 

"Substantial growth coupled with an unacceptably high number of fatalities at this precise intersection has made the construction of an overpass a top priority.   Federal dollars will play a significant role in funding the actual construction of the overpass and compliment both state and local efforts to address this important safety issue," added Bono.

 

Additional 45th District transportation project funding secured by Bono includes:

·         $2 million for interchange reconstruction at Interstate 15 and California Oaks Road   

·         $2.75 million for interchange expansion on Interstate 10 and Palm Drive

·         $2 million for interchange improvements at Interstate 215 at Los Alamos Road

·         $2.75 million for interchange expansion at Interstate 10 at Indian Avenue

·         $1 million for construction of an interchange at State Highway 86 at Ave 50

·         $500 thousand for Sunline Transit bus replacement

·         $1 million for CalStart-WestStart fuel cell bus technology development