SOUTHLAND UNITES ON TRANSIT SIX COUNTIES AGREE ON $11 BILLION PLAN.

Byline: Bill Hillburg Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - After years of squabbling among themselves and losing out on federal transportation dollars, Southern California officials from six counties have closed ranks to lobby Congress for $11 billion worth of high-priority projects.

``We've been getting shafted for years and not getting our fair share of federal money,'' said Los Angeles Councilman Hal Bernson, chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and president of the Southern California Association of Governments.

``We've finally recognized that what impacts this region happens to all of us and that we have to work together.''

Beginning last year, Bernson and officials from Ventura, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Imperial counties met and pared down hundreds of local funding proposals to a list called the Southern California Consensus Program. It includes 29 high-priority regional transportation projects with a total price tag of $11 billion.

``It's a great idea and a step we should have taken a long time ago,'' said David Fleming, chairman of the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley and a former member of the California Transportation Commission.

``We need to take a page from Texas,'' added Fleming. ``Texans always fight like crazy at home over transportation projects, but they have their plan set when they get to Washington and they get what they need. Californians keep the fight going in Washington and end up losing out.''

The consensus projects, which would also use matching funds from state and local sources, range from completing car-pool lanes in the San Fernando Valley to unsnarling a key railroad junction in Colton and replacing the Gerald Desmond Bridge in Long Beach, a rapidly deteriorating span that carries 12 percent of the nation's world trade to and from the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles.

``We literally looked at hundreds of projects,'' said Mark Pisano, executive director of SCAG. ``Everyone had to give to reach this consensus.''

The show of unity also coincides with Congress' upcoming reauthorization of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, also called TEA-21, which will allocate billions of tax dollars over the next six years.

First enacted in 1998, TEA-21 was designed to cut down on pork-barrel allocations for transportation projects and guarantee long-term funding for major efforts.

One of TEA-21's local successes in its initial six-year phase, which will expire Sept. 30, was the MTA's Red Line Subway and its extension to North Hollywood.

Bernson, accompanied by leaders from all six counties, recently completed a lobbying trip to Washington that concentrated on the 38 House members who represent the region, as well as Democratic Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein. Participants said the reaction on Capitol Hill exceeded their expectations.

``The lawmakers and aides we met with were almost astonished,'' said Bill Alexander, mayor of Rancho Cucamonga and chairman of the board that governs Metrolink. ``They were used to people lobbying only for their own local projects.''

Keith Millhouse, mayor pro tem of Moorpark and chairman of the Ventura County Transportation Commission, said the lobbyists won enthusiastic pledges of support from Reps. Elton Gallegly, R-Thousand Oaks, and Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara.

Rep. Gary Miller, R-Diamond Bar, the only California Republican on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said that in the coming budget deliberations, Congress will be allocating $260 billion for roads, mass transit and other transportation projects.

``I think $11 billion is a very fair request for our region.''

REGION'S ROAD AND RAIL PRIORITIES

Here is the Southern California region's list of transportation priorities, prepared in advance of congressional debate over a six-year plan called the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century:

LOS ANGELES COUNTY

--Exposition Light Rail (Downtown L.A. to Robertson/Venice boulevards): $315.6 million

--Eastside Light Rail (Union Station to Atlantic Boulevard): $547.2 million.

--Complete car-pool lanes on 405 Freeway from 10 Freeway to 101 Freeway: $3.6 million.

--Car-pool lanes on 5 Freeway from Rosemead Boulevard to Orange County line: $222.3 million.

--Car-pool lane improvements on 5 Freeway from 134 Freeway to 170 Freeway: $182.7 million.

--Extend 710 Freeway from 10 Freeway to 210 Freeway: $1 billion.

--Replace Gerald Desmond Bridge in Port of Long Beach: $745 million.

INLAND EMPIRE

--Develop alternate route linking Moreno Valley, San Bernardino area: $50 million.

--Car-pool lanes on 91 Freeway from city of Riverside to 215 Freeway: $100 million.

--Rail grade separation for Burlington Northern/Santa Fe, Union Pacific lines at Colton Crossing: $30 million.

--Add truck-only lanes on 15 Freeway from 60 Freeway through Cajon Pass: $1.5 billion.

--Widen 215 Freeway between 10 and 210 freeways: $100 million.

--Rebuild unsafe, outdated interchanges on 10 and 15 freeways: $200 million.

VENTURA COUNTY

--Restore Piru Creek Rail Bridge and tracks to complete rail corridor from Ventura to Santa Clarita: $4 million.

--Intermodal rail and road links to Port of Hueneme: $17 million.

--Add two lanes to 118 Freeway from 23 Freeway in Moorpark to Tapo Canyon Road in Simi Valley: $115 million.

REGIONAL

--Alameda Corridor East project to upgrade, replace rail and street grade crossings in San Gabriel Valley, northern Orange County, and western San Bernardino and Riverside counties: $1.25 billion.

--Truck lane on 60 Freeway from main Los Angeles railroad yards to Inland Empire: $3 billion.

--Metrolink upgrades, including double tracking on busiest segments: $177 million.

SOURCE: Southern California Consensus Program

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REGION'S ROAD AND RAIL PRIORITIES (see text)