Federal Budget Jockeying Targets Alameda Corridor Funds
Lawmakers haggling over transportation funding on Capitol Hill have removed the money that had been earmarked for the Alameda Corridor route between the San Pedro harbor complex and downtown Los Angeles’ rail hub, but city officials and supporters in Washington insisted Thursday the project was not in jeopardy.
Sen. Robert D. Byrd (D-W.Va.), one of several negotiators hammering out a final version of the transportation appropriations bill, demanded the removal of $59 million intended for the corridor as a means of securing money for his own state.
But supporters of the route, the total cost of which is expected to top $1.8 billion, say they have been assured the $59 million will be restored in a congressional resolution after approval of the regular transportation bill.
“Based on representations by a lot of different people in the [California] Congressional delegation and the executive branch, I feel confident it will be there at the end of the day,” said L.A. Harbor Commissioner Jonathan Y. Thomas.
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