WHAT YOU NEED NOW - CONTENT UPDATED THROUGH THE DAY
July 30, 2005
Final Transportation Bill Passes House, Brings Millions to Marshall’s
RTI
By HNN Staff
Washington, DC (HNN) – U.S. Rep. Nick J. Rahall (D-WV) used his
seniority on the House Transportation Committee to add an earmark of $16 million
for the Nick J. Rahall, II Appalachian Transportation Institute (RTI) at
Marshall University to the House transportation bill before the final
version passed the U.S. House of Representatives Friday, July 29, 2005.
"This funding that I was able to secure will help Marshall University
expand upon its good work on transportation research and become one of the
premiere institutions for transportation research in the nation," said Rahall.
RTI was established at Marshall University through a $12 million grant
that Rahall secured in the last major transportation bill in 1998. RTI is
one of a handful transportation centers in the country to receive this type of
funding. The $16 million Rahall secured in this bill will be spread
out over the life of the bill. RTI will receive $2 million in 2005, and
$3.5 million per year between 2006 and 2009. Additionally, in this bill,
the federal money will be matched dollar for dollar bringing the total RTI
funding to $32 million.
"This funding will help RTI research our transportation system in West
Virginia and create plans for future projects to improve safety and
efficiency of our roadways," said Rahall. "It will help open our state
up to new businesses and tourism opportunities, which will create even
more new jobs for southern West Virginia. Like the slogan of RTI, I am
continuing my efforts to build jobs through transportation in our area."
Rahall helped pass the final version of the much anticipated
transportation bill through the U.S. House of Representatives today after months and
months of work in committee and conference. The bill will fund transportation
projects across the Nation for five years. The bill, Transportation
Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (TEA LU), H.R. 3, passed the House by an
overwhelming bipartisan vote. Rahall helped secure an annual average
of $404 million in the bill specifically for West Virginia's
transportation needs over the next five years, and $126.8 million earmarked for local
projects. After the additional State funding, Rahall secured a total
of $165 million for southern West Virginia projects.
"West Virginia is a big winner with this transportation bill," said
Rahall. "This bill will create good jobs, jobs that pay workers well, all
across southern West Virginia. The Department of Transportation estimates
that 47,500 new jobs are created for every $1 billion spent on
transportation nationally. Clearly, this bill will put West Virginians to work and
bring many job opportunities to our area."
The $404 million per year for West Virginia will allow the State to
make significant progress in improving its transportation infrastructure,
including several high-priority construction projects. Due in large
part to the work of Congressman Rahall, the $404 million per year West Virginia
will receive is an increase of over 30% from the last highway bill. "This
funding is long overdue, and now we can finally get these projects
under way and let the rubber meet the road," said Rahall.
