- Courtesy METRO
Article first published as <ahref=’http://technorati.com/business/article/nearly-35-million-to-be-invested/‘>Nearly $35 Million to be Invested in Bus Improvements According to U.S. DOT</a> on Technorati.
Greyhound Bus coined the phrase, “Take the bus, and leave the driving to us.” Now, the federal government is banking on it with a $34.7 million dollar program announced Friday (Oct. 28, 2011).
Angelenos and Los Angeles area visitors will soon have better transit options and less congestion thanks to money from the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) 2011 Bus Livability and State of Good Repair competitive discretionary programs.
- Courtesy Metro
“Investing in America’s transit systems, rails, roads, ports and airports is the perfect way to generate tens of thousands of construction-related jobs and put more money into the pockets of working Americans,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
“But we must do more. Congress needs to pass the transportation portion of the American Jobs Act so we can continue to invest in critically needed projects like these, and to repair and modernize our nation’s transportation systems.”
FTA Deputy Administrator Therese McMillan was at Metro headquarters in Los Angeles to make the announcement and to encourage Congress to support the transportation investments proposed under President Obama’s American Jobs Act.
- Aerial shot of Union Station in downtown LA
(Courtesy Metro)
She was joined by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Metro CEO Art Leahy and other officials. “As a native Californian, I know first-hand just how crowded our highways and roads are and how without these federal investments our cities’ buses will continue to age and break down,” Deputy Administrator McMillan said. The U.S.
Senate is expected to vote on the transportation proposals made under the President’s American Jobs Act next week.
The transit grants are expected to help Metro purchase new energy-efficient compressed natural gas buses and construct a new Patsaouras Plaza Bus Station adjacent to Union Station in downtown Los Angeles, which will serve El Monte Bus way passengers and other transit riders.
The project is part of the Metro Express Lanes Demonstration Program, a larger strategic effort to reduce traffic congestion along the I-10 and I-110 freeways in Los Angeles County.
Some 2,400 jobs are expected to surface from $210 million federal grant awarded by the DOT four years ago. DOT, Metro and the California Dept. of Transportation (Caltrans), is currently under construction on those projects.
TTA is providing more than $126 million for 41 projects in California. A complete list of successful project proposals can be found athttp://fta.dot.gov/grants/13094.html.
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