Published: Tuesday, February 15, 2011, 8:31 PM     Updated: Wednesday, February 16, 2011, 6:06 AM

Joseph Rose, The Oregonian


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Joseph Rose, The Oregonian


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bridgejpg-a6d68029f674bba0jpg-335960cb0935ea96jpg-2f1f53c379d21762.jpgView full sizeThe proposed Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail bridge as it will appear against the Portland skyline.President Barack Obama’s budget calls for $200 million in federal funding to go toward the proposed Portland-Milwaukie light-rail line.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the administration’s funding recommendations Tuesday for 10 new transit construction projects around the country, including the newest MAX line.

Obama’s budget proposal includes a record $3.2 billion in funding for 28 transit construction projects across the U.S. that LaHood says will increase mobility, reduce energy consumption, curb air pollution, and help the nation compete economically.

The president, LaHood said, wants $200 million in the next fiscal year to go toward a full-funding grant for the so-called Orange Line extending 7.3 miles from  downtown Portland to Milwaukie over a new bridge.

Construction on the new 1,720-foot bridge bridge, which will be used only by trains, buses, streetcars, pedestrians and bicyclists, is expected to begin this summer. The Orange Line, which TriMet says will better serve the southern transit corridor, downtown and emerging growth areas in east Portland, is to open in September 2015.
 
“As President Obama made clear in his State of the Union Address, we must win the future by investing in a modern transportation network that will enable us to out-compete the rest of the world,” LaHood said in a statement.  “Portland already boasts a world-class light-rail system, and this addition will enhance access to the South Waterfront and destinations across the Willamette River.”

LaHood

Article source: http://feeds.stateline.org/~r/StatelineorgRss-Transportation/~3/-SPBCABhYUM/president_obamas_budget_sets_a.html