OFFICIALS MARK TRANSIT VICTORY VILLARAIGOSA CELEBRATES NEW PATH IN FEDERAL TRANSIT FUNDING.

Byline: Lisa Mascaro Staff Writer

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and transportation leaders on Wednesday celebrated the improvements that will be made with the $4.5 billion the region will get by 2009 from the new federal highway bill while deflecting questions about why rural areas get a disproportionate share of the funds.

Speaking at a Metro Blue Line station, officials said the funding - $833 million more countywide than was allocated in the last federal highway bill - provides a much-needed infusion of cash for roads, mass transit and freeways.

Along with big-ticket items like the 405 Freeway car-pool lane and the Gold Line extension, the highway bill includes dozens of smaller projects across the San Fernando Valley - from crosswalks and traffic signals to streetlights and irrigation for the Orange Line busway.

``This is great news of transportation funding that's sorely needed in a region with the worst traffic and air quality in the United States of America,'' Villaraigosa said.

``These investments are not just local investments, they're national investments. When you look at the challenges we face in this region, how many people live here and the strength of our economy, this is a happy day.''

The mayor was joined by congressional leaders, who praised Villaraigosa for heading to Washington shortly after he took office July 1 to press the region's case in the capital.

``He kind of put the icing on the cake - or he kind of helped to jell this cake that was kind of crumbling a little bit,'' said Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald, D-Torrance.

``We brought home the bacon to you. We're talking about bringing in the bacon so that we can un-gridlock these corridors of national and economic significance,'' she said.

``This is a celebration for Los Angeles, for our new mayor and for all of our residents. These are great things that we have brought in.''

When pressed on the fact that Kern County got more money per capita than Los Angeles - $1,000 per resident compared to about $60 in Los Angeles County - the congresswoman said that kind of disparity is to be expected sometimes.

But she also noted that Rep. Bill Thomas, the Bakersfield Republican who chairs the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, proved an ally, making the $286 billion bill the largest transportation and public works appropriation in the nation's history.

``It was Chairman Thomas who we went to, to see if we could find funding to help to prop this bill up so the president could sign it,'' Millender-McDonald said. ``When you negotiate bills, those are some of the negotiating factors that come with it.''

Villaraigosa stepped in to add that California's delegation succeeded in getting more gas tax money returned to the state than under the previous highway bill - 92 cents on every $1 sent to Washington, instead of 90.5 cents, as has been the case in the past.

California has long been a so-called donor state, contributing to other states that get a higher return.

``(It's) a step in the right direction,'' the mayor said. ``We'd all like to be at 100 percent. That's the goal. This again is a celebration of their success and their leadership in that regard.''

Other officials downplayed the boon for Bakersfield and said all of California benefits from the extra funding.

``Bakersfield's a rapidly growing area,'' said Dan Beal of the Auto Club of Southern California. ``It's just to our north.''

The state Department of Transportation praised the 92-cent formula as an important step toward funding California's transportation program.

``It's very significant to the state of California,'' said Caltrans Director Will Kempton. ``That's huge. We're moving in the right direction.''

Lisa Mascaro, [phone]

lisa.mascaro(at)dailynews.com

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