FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, March 2, 2001
Contact: Kimberly Riddle
Tel:
(202) 366-9951
DOT 22-01
U.S.
Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta, visiting California to promote
President Bush’s fiscal 2002 transportation budget, said the new budget will
provide $122.2 million for transportation projects in the San Francisco Bay
area.
The
budget includes $80.6 million to extend the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system
from Colma to San Francisco International Airport.
The airport also is designated for $23 million to aid in reducing noise
and repairing taxiways.
In
addition, Oakland Airport will receive $7.5 million to complete its air traffic
control tower, and $13 million to aid in runway rehabilitation and noise
mitigation. San Jose Airport will
receive $11 million to extend and rehabilitate runways, in addition to the $5
million provided in 2001. And
Silicon Valley will benefit from nearly $113,500 for the Tasman West Light Rail
Project.
"President
Bush is committed to investing in transportation, which will help strengthen the
economy and protect the environment, and his budget’s strong support for
critical Department of Transportation programs illustrates this
commitment," said Secretary Mineta. "Investing
in important transportation projects like these is key to providing the tools
many Americans need to fully access their communities."
A total of $145 million is included for President Bush’s New Freedom Initiative, which includes funding for 10 pilot programs that use innovative approaches to developing transportation plans that serve people with disabilities. The administration also will establish a competitive matching grant program to promote access to alternative methods of transportation through community-based and other providers.
The
BART/SFO project is an 8.7 mile, 4-station, $1.48 billion extension of BART
heavy rail service from the Colma Station to the San Francisco International
Airport and the city of Millbrae. The
federal share of this project is $750 million.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Transit
Administration is participating in the project under a 1997 full funding grant
agreement (FFGA). A FFGA is the
federal government’s commitment to support a transit project over the course
of several fiscal years, contingent upon Congress’s annual transit
appropriations.
President
Bush has proposed an overall DOT discretionary budget of $57.2 billion for 2002,
a 6 percent increase over the current fiscal year when one-time 2001
appropriations of $2.8 billion are subtracted.
Under
the budget, highway and mass transit programs are fully funded at the guaranteed
levels contained in the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century.
Guaranteed funding for highways totals $32.3 billion, $2.1 billion above
2001. Funding for mass transit is
$6.7 billion, $486 million above the current year.
Aviation
capital and operating programs are fully funded at the levels authorized by the
Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century, for a total of $725
million, 6 percent above 2001. Airport
grants are funded at $3.3 billion, capital modernization at $2.9 billion, and
operations of the Federal Aviation Administration at $6.9 billion.
Secretary
Mineta emphasized that the Bush administration is extremely concerned about
delays in the national airspace system, and said that the administration will
work with the aviation community and Congress over the next year to develop a
plan of action increasing the capacity of the nation’s aviation system as well
as other improvements.
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