TRANSPORTATION FIGHT SETTLED L.A. ASSURED ITS FUNDS WON'T BE GRABBED FOR BAY BRIDGE.Byline: Steve Geissinger Sacramento Bureau SACRAMENTO - After Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. officials were assured it would not sap funds for city projects, a measure funding the Bay Bridge overhaul cleared a final hurdle Wednesday with Assembly approval that sent the bill to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (German pronunciation (IPA): [ˈaɐ̯nɔlt ˈaloɪ̯s ˈʃvaɐ̯ʦənˌʔɛɡɐ] . The 58-5 vote came only after Los Angeles area officials got some assurances they demanded, including one that San Francisco Bay Area “Bay Area” redirects here. For other uses, see Bay Area (disambiguation). The San Francisco Bay Area, colloquially known as the Bay Area or The Bay agencies would foot most of the $6 billion-plus cost of the seismic retrofit. The governor is expected to sign the measure. Richard Katz, a Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority board member, said L.A. officials were concerned that funding for the bridge would delay money owed to the MTA (1) (Message Transfer Agent or Mail Transfer Agent) The store and forward part of a messaging system. See messaging system. (2) See M Technology Association. 1. (messaging) MTA - Message Transfer Agent. for transportation projects the agency has already launched with expectation of repayment. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Antonio Ramon Villaraigosa (born Antonio (Tony) Ramon Villar, Jr. on January 23, 1953) is the mayor of Los Angeles, California. He is the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles since Cristobal Aguilar in 1872. and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuez, D-Los Angeles, held up the deal so they could negotiate financial protections for Los Angeles. ``We need that money to start new projects,'' said Katz, a former Assembly member from the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. . ``The mayor's goal of protecting Southern California dollars was taken care of, and the speaker was a big help in doing it.'' The dispute revolved around a state highway fund of about $600 million - of which 60 percent could go to Southern California unless Bay Area officials got part of the Southland's share siphoned off for the bridge - and about $340 million that the state owes the MTA in reimbursements, Katz said. Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, a Berkeley Democrat who carried the bill in the lower house, assured Southern California lawmakers that the Bay Bridge funding deal would not drain funds for projects elsewhere. A separate measure, expected to be approved later this year, is aimed at further addressing such worries and ensuring that the California Department of Transportation The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is a government agency in the U.S. state of California. Its mission is to improve mobility across the state. It manages the state highway system and is actively involved with public transportation systems in California. makes speedier reimbursements when local governments front funds to kick off transportation-improvement projects. Under the deal, Bay Area motorists will pay 83 percent of the cost of completing the eastern span with a single tower. The cost will be borne by a $1 toll hike in 2007 and refinancing current bridge tolls. Steve Geissinger, (916) 447-9302 sgeissinger(at)angnewspapers.com |
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