East Los Angeles Rail Emerges as Federal Priority

A planned East Los Angeles railway emerged Tuesday as one of the Federal Transit Administration’s top priorities, a sign that the project has the support of the White House and could conceivably meet its goal of operating by 2009.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta listed the railway as one of eight projects in the nation that he believes merit congressional funding in the fiscal 2005 budget.

Mineta said the FTA is asking Congress to give the East Los Angeles project $80 million immediately and to commit to paying for nearly half of the railway’s projected $898-million cost.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority envisions the project as an extension of the Gold Line light railway, which opened last year between Union Station and Pasadena. The extension would wend from Union Station through some one of the region’s poorest and most transit-dependent communities, stopping in Little Tokyo and Boyle Heights and ending up in East Los Angeles.

MTA officials praised Mineta’s announcement.

“We are pleased that Secretary Mineta recognized the importance of this project to the citizens, not only of the Eastside and Boyle Heights, but to the whole region,” said MTA Chief Executive Roger Snoble.

The Eastside extension is the MTA’s top construction priority, but money problems have cropped up recently, causing many at the agency to worry about whether the railway would be built in the near future.

Congress did not include any money for the project in its 2004 budget, rejecting the MTA’s request for $70 million to start construction. The agency is also working to cut costs after the winning construction bid came in last year at $113 million more than expected. MTA officials are trying to trim that contract by reducing administrative costs and altering the design of the railway, perhaps by consolidating maintenance facilities.

If the project is approved by Congress, including a commitment of $498 million, the MTA wants to start heavy construction this year and open the line by 2009. State and local money, already secured by the MTA, would cover the remaining costs.

On Tuesday, Mineta urged Congress to start funding the eight priority projects, at a cost of $425 million next year, as part of the Bush administration’s recently released budget plan. On Monday, the president asked Congress to approve a roughly $58-billion transit budget for fiscal 2005.

In a telephone interview, FTA Deputy Administrator Robert Jamison said the East Los Angeles railway is a federal priority.

“From looking at the merits of the project, this is going to serve a community that needs transit,” Jamison said. “It is going to meet vital needs.”

The East L.A. line was on a larger list of 17 transit projects that emerged from the review with a “recommended” designation. Orange County’s proposed CenterLine light railway, a 9-mile route, made the list of 17. But the FTA did not recommend CenterLine for funding this year because it is not ready for construction.