Roybal-Allard (CA34) - Press Release - First Street Bridge, Boyle Heights – Photo: The congresswoman joins U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer to highlight the $80 million they secured recently through the Fiscal Year 2008 federal appropriations process to continue construction of the Edward R. Roybal Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension..

(February 20, 2008) First Street Bridge, Boyle Heights – Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34) joined U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer to highlight the $80 million they secured recently through the Fiscal Year 2008 federal appropriations process to continue construction of the Edward R. Roybal Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Gloria Molina, Yvonne B. Burke and Zev Yaroslavsky, and Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) CEO Roger Snoble also took part in the event. In her remarks, Congresswoman Roybal-Allard acknowledged that the project was ahead of schedule and congratulated the MTA staff and the employees working on the project for their more than 2.6 million work hours without an accident requiring an employee to take a single day off from work. The light rail will extend six miles east from downtown's Union Station through Little Tokyo, the Arts District, Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles. The $899 million project is scheduled for completion in late 2009. The congresswoman worked with other key lawmakers to secure final approval of the Full Funding Grant Agreement that allowed construction of the project to get underway. The total federal government commitment for the project is approximately $490 million. Pictured in the photo from left to right: Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa; Supervisor Yvonne B. Burke; Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34) speaking at podium; Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky; U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer; and MTA CEO Roger Snoble.

Congresswoman Roybal-Allard made the following remarks at the event:

“It is a pleasure to welcome Senator Barbara Boxer to my 34th congressional district and to this historic First Street bridge to highlight the critical role federal transportation dollars have in Los Angeles.

On this bridge, the Yellow Car trolley once carried Angelenos across the Los Angeles River.

Today, with direct federal assistance, Los Angeles is reconnecting with its past by using rail to help solve its growing transportation challenges.

With the opening of the Edward R. Roybal Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension, Angelenos will once again travel by train across the First Street bridge connecting downtown and East LA.

The Eastside Extension, which will join the Red, Blue, Green, and Gold lines as the newest spoke in LA’s growing transportation rail system, is an example of a sound federal investment with significant positive benefits for Los Angeles, especially our transit-dependent communities.

While we may not be able to replicate the extensive network of the Red and Yellow trolley cars that criss-crossed Southern California in the last century, our growing rail network will help get Angelenos out of their cars by offering them alternatives to driving on our traffic-choked freeways.

The Eastside Extension, for example, is expected to result in a reduction of 29.6 million vehicle miles traveled and 1.3 million vehicle hours traveled each year. All of which translates to an annual savings of $23.4 million.

With a record of being ahead of schedule and with more than 2.6 million work hours without an accident requiring a single day away from work, the MTA staff has demonstrated they are good stewards of the federal investment in this project. I congratulate MTA CEO Roger Snoble and project manager Dennis Mori and their employees for their noteworthy achievement.

This city’s growing rail network would not be possible without the cooperation of federal, state, and local officials. This includes the efforts of Supervisor Molina, Mayor Villaraigosa, Senator Feinstein and Senator Boxer. It has been an honor to work with each one of them to ensure that the completion of the Eastside Extension remains a federal funding priority.

As a member of the House Transportation Appropriations subcommittee, I thank Senator Boxer for partnering with me during the appropriation process, to secure the $80 million needed this year for the eastside rail project.

I look forward to continuing to work with Senator Boxer, and my other colleagues, to ensure the federal government continues to be a full contributing partner in our efforts to address the transportation needs of our city and our county as a whole.