$163 Million for Metro Rail Backed : Transit: A House committee votes for the funding to extend the system to North Hollywood and other areas.

In a significant step toward bringing Metro Rail into the San Fernando Valley, the House Appropriations Committee voted Tuesday to provide $163 million to push the system’s construction to North Hollywood, East Los Angeles and the Mid-City area.

At a time of intense competition for scarce federal transportation funds, the panel recommended that the Los Angeles system receive 27% of the nationwide total of $593 million for new transit systems. The second highest sum was $70 million for Portland, Ore.

“I’ve got to be very pleased with that,” said Rep. Julian C. Dixon (D-Los Angeles), a senior member of the appropriations panel and leading Metro Rail proponent. “These funds will enable Los Angeles to move forward on building a reliable and efficient public transit system.”

The spending bill was sent to the full House, which is expected to ratify the Appropriations Committee’s action. The Senate, which has generally provided lesser sums for Metro Rail, will pass its own version. The two bills will then be reconciled by senior members of both chambers in a conference committee.

Backers of the massive system have touted its benefits in creating thousands of jobs in economically hard-pressed Southern California, improving air quality in the smoggy region and providing new transportation services for densely populated communities.

Metro Rail advocates had requested $190 million for next year but did not expect to receive anywhere near that much. President Clinton had made a surprisingly generous recommendation of $232 million for the project in his proposed 1994 fiscal year budget.

The money in the spending bill includes $70 million to complete construction of the second segment of the Metro Red Line--which is slated to reach North Hollywood eventually--and $93 million to be divided evenly among three extensions that compose the line’s third segment.

The second segment consists of two legs, one under Wilshire Boulevard from Alvarado Street to Western Avenue and the other north under Vermont Avenue and west beneath Hollywood Boulevard to Vine Street. It has been budgeted at $1.45 billion.

The three extensions for the third segment go from Hollywood and Vine to Lankershim and Chandler boulevards in North Hollywood; west from the Mid-City district to Pico and San Vicente boulevards, and east from Union Station into East Los Angeles. The North Hollywood leg is budgeted at $1.31 billion, the Eastside leg at $684.6 million and the Westside leg at $574.7 million.

The Western Avenue leg of the second 6.7-mile segment is scheduled to open in 1996, and the Vine Street leg in 1998. The third segment is scheduled to be completed by the year 2000.