U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Announces $46 Million Grant Agreement for Final Phase of Doyle Drive Project in San Francisco |
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Topics: Ray LaHood
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Federal Highway Administration
27 December 2010
FHWA 73-10
Monday, December 27, 2010
Contact: Doug Hecox
Tel: 202-366-0660
Final phase of the project will move forward thanks to $46 Million from American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
WASHINGTON - U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced that work on the final segment of the Doyle Drive Replacement project in San Francisco can move ahead thanks to $46 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds. A final grant agreement for the federal funds has been signed between the U.S. Department of Transportation, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the San Francisco County Transportation Authority.
"Investments like this reaffirm President Obama's commitment to creating jobs and rebuilding America's transportation infrastructure," said Secretary LaHood. "This grant will reduce area traffic congestion, and safeguard one of America's most economically and historically significant cities from earthquake damage."
The $46 million in Recovery Act funds will be used to help create access from the Presidio Parkway to local roads, improve safety of the aging route and replace a bridge rated as California's worst for structural sufficiency.
At more than $1 billion, the Doyle Drive Replacement - also known as the Presidio Parkway project - is one of the nation's largest, most complex and labor-intensive Recovery Act-funded highway projects. It relies on multiple funding sources, spanning federal, state, regional and local governments.
When completed in 2015, the project will replace the 73-year-old Doyle Drive southwest of the Golden Gate Bridge and make structural and seismic improvements to the Presidio Trust and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area nearby. Replacing Doyle Drive has been a priority for state, local and federal officials for more than 50 years. Recovery Act dollars helped the project start a year earlier than originally planned.
"Given the reliance the Bay Area places on this major route, this grant will help create jobs for hundreds of workers and significantly improve safety for thousands of motorists each day," said Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez.
The grant is part of the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program included in the Recovery Act to promote innovative, multi-modal and multi-jurisdictional transportation projects that provide significant economic and environmental benefits to an entire metropolitan area, region or the nation.
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced the selection of $1.5 billion worth of TIGER grants for 51 projects as part of the first anniversary of the Recovery Act on February 17.