DOT 44-07
Friday, May 4, 2007
Contact: Brian Turmail
Phone: (202) 366-4570

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters Visits Damaged MacArthur Maze and Announces $2 Million in First Round of Emergency Relief

EMERYVILLE – U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters today announced an initial $2 million in federal emergency relief will be available to California to repair the damaged MacArthur Maze overpass. The Secretary joined Senator Boxer and Representatives Tauscher, Lee and Oberstar on a tour of the site to see the repairs that will be required.

“We’re not going to let funding for the Maze get tangled in a web of bureaucracy, Secretary Peters said. “That is why the Department has cut through the red tape to make Emergency Relief funds immediately available to help get this bridge open and people moving again.”

The Secretary said the $2 million is a “first installment of funds that will give construction crews the support they need to do their jobs,” and that additional federal dollars are expected to follow once the full project cost is determined. She pledged that the federal government will continue to be a close partner with the state to do everything possible to get the bridge up and running as soon as possible.

Through its Emergency Relief program, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration reimburses states for expenses associated with emergency situations. The projects paid for by the funds include rebuilding or replacing damaged bridges, highways, lighting, guardrails and signs, creating detours and debris removal.