Etheridge Secures $400,000 for U.S. 401

News Release
Congressman Bob Etheridge
North Carolina

November 18, 2005

Contact: Joanne Peters
Phone: (202) 225-4531

Etheridge Secures $400,000 for U.S. 401

WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-Lillington) today announced that he has secured $400,000 in federal funding to widen U.S. 401 from Raleigh to Fayetteville. The funding was included in the Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, the District of Columbia, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006. The conference report must now be approved by the Senate, which is expected to pass the legislation and send it to the President.

"This federal funding is great news for North Carolina," said Etheridge. "Widening U.S. 401 will improve the driving corridors between Raleigh and Fayetteville and bring economic development and increased opportunity to our communities. Our families will be able to travel on safe roads with less traffic and congestion. I have worked for many years to support this important project, and I will continue to work in Congress to secure federal funding for this worthy transportation project."

The $400,000 for U.S. 401 will help fund study of and preparation for the widening of the roadway. Currently, only a few sections of this corridor have been widened, and the dramatic population growth in the area has resulted in a great deal of congestion and bottlenecks. A continuous multilane corridor would reduce congestion, and therefore pollution levels, as well as spur commercial development.

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