U.S. Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta announced that four priority transportation projects, some of which previously were held up for years, are now moving forward. The four are among 13 highway, transit and airport projects receiving special attention from a task force appointed by President Bush.
The four projects are I-80 in Nebraska; the North/South Alignment for the Community and Environmental Transportation Acceptability Process in Riverside County, Calif.; the Chittenden County Circumferential Highway in Vermont; and the Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges Project in Kentucky and Indiana.
"Successful resolution of issues surrounding these projects demonstrates that leadership and partnership can help advance important environmentally sound transportation projects," Mineta said.
To mark the progress, Mineta and James Connaughton, chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, presented plaques to each of the project sponsors. They included Congressman Doug Bereuter on behalf of the state of Nebraska; Cathy Bechtel, director of Transportation Planning and Policy Development from the Riverside County Transportation Commission; Patricia McDonald, Vermont Secretary of Transportation; James Codell, secretary of Kentucky's Transportation Cabinet; and Bryon Nichol, Indiana Commissioner of Transportation. Congresswoman Anne Northup was recognized for her support of the Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges Project.
