REPS. MIKE THOMPSON, JARED HUFFMAN ANNOUNCE $2.5 MILLION DOT GRANT FOR SMART
WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. Reps. Mike Thompson (CA-5) and Jared Huffman (CA-2) today announced a $2.5 million Department of Transportation Grant for Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) train. The funds will be used for the engineering design in preparation for construction of the Larkspur Extension, which will connect the SMART rail system to the Larkspur Ferry in Marin County.
"The SMART project is going to be an economic lynchpin for our entire region, and I am proud to have helped secure these important funds," said Thompson. "With the construction of SMART, jobs will be created, communities will be connected, congestion will be reduced, commuters will have an easier time getting to work along the entire corridor, and our region will be more attractive to home buyers and businesses. This economic ripple effect will have a big impact on regional job growth for decades to come."
"SMART will take thousands of cars off our roads, reducing pollution and easing congestion on the increasingly gridlocked 101," Huffman said. "SMART is a critical project for our environment, economy, and would be an important infrastructure investment for this region for decades to come. I'll continue fighting in Washington to secure funding to complete it."
"We are grateful to have this federal support to move the project towards construction and we believe the regional funding support for the Larkspur Extension will encourage the federal government to help us complete construction of SMART's connection to the Larkspur Ferry," said SMART General Manager Farhad Mansourian.
The funds were originally secured for SMART in Fiscal Year (FY) 2010. In 2012, SMART received notice that the funding would lapse unless it could be utilized by the end of the fiscal year. For the funds to be utilized SMART had to be accepted into the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) New Starts/Small Starts program.
To address this issue, Thompson led a letter with former Rep. Lynn Woolsey to the FTA urging them to preserve this funding until SMART was accepted into the FTA's New Starts/Small Starts Program and could execute the grant. SMART was accepted into the New Starts/Small Starts program in September 2013 and has since completed the preliminary work that now enables them to utilize this funding.
SMART is constructing a 43-mile, locally funded rail project between Downtown San Rafael and the Sonoma County Airport north of Santa Rosa, with revenue service anticipated to begin in late 2016.
Congressman Mike Thompson is proud to represent California's 5th Congressional District, which includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Sonoma Counties. He is a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Rep. Thompson is also a member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition and chairs the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Wine Caucus.
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