“This is fantastic news for residents of the San Fernando Valley,” Berman said.  “The 405 is the second most congested freeway in the entire nation, and the Northbound section over the Sepulveda pass – the only stretch without an existing or soon-to-be-built carpool lane – suffers from terrible gridlock at almost all times of the day and much of the night.  This congestion slows the movement of goods, worsens air pollution, and most importantly, takes an enormous toll on the lives of countless Valley residents.”

“Securing these funds was a real team effort,” Berman said.  “In particular, Senator Barbara Boxer, who played a key role as a member of the conference committee on the transportation bill -- and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who met with key members of the House and Senate to express his support -- deserve enormous credit for their hard work.  Senator Dianne Feinstein and California Transportation Commission member Allen Lawrence also made important contributions.”

“Of course, we didn’t get as much funding for the project as we requested,” Berman said.  “But that’s almost always the case, especially when you’re in the minority party.  Our strategy was to aim high and hope for a respectable funding level that would get the project off the ground and build momentum to leverage additional federal funds in future legislation.  With this $130 million – and the fact that this is now a federally recognized project -- we have clearly succeeded in doing that.”

“We’ve done our part,” Berman concluded. “The fate of this critical project is now in the hands of state and local officials.  Hopefully this $130 million – a substantial amount of money that California never expected to receive – will provide a strong incentive for Caltrans, the California Transportation Commission and the Governor to make the 405 carpool lane a high priority and take whatever steps are necessary to ensure the state doesn’t lose these funds.  Of course, I’m happy to help in any way I can as the process moves forward.”