For Immediate Release

November 18, 2005

FINAL VERSION OF APPROPRIATIONS BILL
FUNDS KEY LOCAL TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Transit systems in the 6th Congressional District will receive funds for the purchase of new buses, for a passenger-only ferry and for improvements to system facilities from a transportation spending bill passed today in Congress, U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks said.

            The funding was included in the final version of the federal appropriations bill that funds the Departments of Transportation, Treasury and Housing & Urban Development, approved in the House and Senate on Friday, Rep. Dicks said.

            Clallam Transit will receive $220,000, Grays Harbor Transit gets $65,000, Jefferson County Transit receives $365,000 and Mason County will receive $150,000 from the Federal Transit Administration's Bus and Bus Facility account for purchases of new buses.   Another $800,000 from the same account will be directed to the Port Angeles International Gateway project for expansion of a parking area for commuters and the bill also includes a $780,000 expansion of the Transit Center operated by Grays Harbor Transit in Aberdeen, Rep. Dicks said.

            The legislation provides $3 million for the Cross-Base Highway, a roadway through Fort Lewis & McChord AFB, connecting Interstate 5 to Spanaway and portions of eastern Pierce County.  It also contributes another $5 million for the continued build-out of the "Sounder" commuter rail line that connects Tacoma to Seattle and adds another $80 million increment to Sound Transit's Link Light Rail project that will ultimately become the main transit artery of central Puget Sound.

            The congressman has also been a champion of a special account in the Highway Trust Fund that supports the construction of ferries carrying autos and people across large bodies of water.  The Washington State Dept. of Transportation has  received about $5 million annually from this account for construction of new ferries, and this year it will get a boost in this funding to $6.7 million.  Rep. Dicks also worked with Washington Sen. Patty Murray, to add $2.3 million to the bill for Kitsap Transit to continue the Rich Passage wake study and $1.5 million for the purchase of a passenger-only ferry for the Bremerton-to-Seattle route.

            Finally, the transportation bill supports the upkeep of critical roads on Indian reservations in the U.S., including $1.5 million for roads on the Makah Reservation; $1.75 million for an access road and other roadway projects on Lower Elwha Klallam tribal land; $750,000 for the Taholah School Access Road and $2.5 million for other road projects on the Quinault Indian Reservation.

            A senior member of the House appropriations committee, Dicks said he worked closely with Senator Murray, who serves in a key position on the counterpart committee in the Senate, to address the most important transportation needs in the 6th District and around the state.  "In recent years we have made substantial incremental progress in helping local transit agencies develop strategies for reducing congestion and improving the convenience of mass transit in both urban and rural areas of our state," Rep. Dicks noted.  "The funds in this year's bill will increase the resources we need to continue to address many of our major road, bus and ferry transportation challenges in the state," he said.

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