CAR-POOL FUNDS IN FAST LANE? CONGRESS POISED TO APPROVE $130 MILLION FOR 405.

Byline: Lisa Friedman Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - Moving to ease nightmare traffic for San Fernando Valley commuters, Congress struck a deal late Thursday to give Los Angeles $130 million for a car-pool lane on the northbound 405 Freeway as part of a massive $286.5 billion national transportation bill.

The House was expected to vote first on the 1,000-page package, but last- minute disputes had lawmakers waiting in their offices late Thursday.

While far less than the $400 million they'd requested, Southern California transportation leaders said it will jump-start high-occupancy-vehicle lane work on a 10-mile stretch of the San Diego Freeway between the Valley and Westside that carries more than 300,000 commuters daily.

``It's a great victory,'' said Rep. Howard Berman, D-Van Nuys, who engineered an intense, behind-the-scenes lobbying effort to fund the $500 million HOV-lane project.

``It's exciting times for the San Fernando Valley,'' said Richard Close, president of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association. ``We've been trying to get that extra lane for years. It's about time we got our dollars from Washington and from Sacramento.''

The Valley project was among the hundreds of projects - everything from streetlights to freeway extensions - for every congressional district in the nation included in the six-year highway-authorization package.

Thursday was filled with a series of hastily called backroom meetings among Golden State Republicans and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay over Southern California's Alameda Corridor East freight project.

The project ultimately won about $155 million - a far cry from the $900 million supporters had sought.

The Senate is expected to approve the measure today. After that, it will go to President George W. Bush, who is expected to sign it.

Altogether, the legislation includes $21.6 billion for California projects, said Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.

Precise figures were still trickling in late Thursday, but the bill includes money for Los Angeles International Airport traffic improvements; the 8.5-mile Santa Clarita Cross Valley Connector road linking I-5 and State Route 14; and funds for both the Gold Line Foothill and Eastside light-rail projects.

It also has about $13 million in projects for the Valley championed by Brad Sherman, D-Sherman Oaks, including $836,000 for the Los Angeles Pierce College Bus Rapid Transit Station extension.

But for Valley commuters, perhaps no project in the bill was as critical as the proposed car-pool lane on the 405 Freeway.

Last month, Berman lashed out publicly at Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, saying the governor was jeopardizing the project by not supporting it more strongly.

The state's top transportation priority for the federal highway bill has been freight; state officials worried that pushing for funds for the 405 could diminish their chances for the $900 million they were seeking for the Alameda Corridor East freight-hauling project.

The governor ultimately stepped in with a promise that the state and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority would commit to 20 percent of the project's funding if Berman could secure the promised $400 million.

On Thursday, Schwarzenegger spokesman Vince Sollitto said the impact of Berman bringing home less money ``than he indicated he was able to'' remains unclear.

The cash-strapped MTA already has been forced to put projects on hold as transportation funds have been siphoned off to the state's general fund in recent years.

And even though Schwarzenegger has released an additional $1.3 billion for transportation in his 2005-06 budget, many projects are already in line for those funds.

``There's a long list of programs in California that have not been able to be pursued,'' Sollitto said.

Berman, however, said he is not worried about the state's ability to fund the rest of the project. He, Close and others noted that getting the car-pool lane in the highway bill means it is not eligible for future federal cash.

They also said the $130 million is enough to push the 405 Freeway to the top of Caltrans' priority list.

``Did I ever expect to get the maximum money? No, not realistically,'' Berman said. ``This is about creating a federal pot of money for one of the most congested freeways in America that, if they don't lose it, goes away.''

Sherman, who testified to the House Transportation Committee in 2003 with Berman on the importance of the car-pool lane, noted that the state wasn't planning to start the project for a decade.

``Now we've got 130 million reasons to start building it now,'' he said.

Staff writer Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.

Lisa Friedman, [phone]

lisa.friedman(at)langnews.com