Healdsburg SMART Bridge Could Get $13.6M: Infrastructure Bill
California would be a big winner under the federal infrastructure bill passed Thursday by the House, with nearly $1 billion in projects.
July 01, 2021
HEALDSBURG, CA — The U.S. House of Representatives approved a $715 billion infrastructure plan, and if the Senate passes it, it will mean $13.6 million for the SMART Russian River Rail Bridge Rehabilitation project in Healdsburg.
If President Joe Biden signs it into law, it would be the nation's largest infrastructure investment in about 75 years: a 50 percent increase over the last infrastructure budget, according to The New York Times.
California would be a big winner under the proposed law. The bill includes more than $900 million for projects throughout the Golden State. They include bridges, bike lanes and express lanes, railway expansions, electric vehicle charging stations, zero-emission transit fleets, tunnels, transportation hubs, wastewater and drinking water projects and other infrastructure to prepare for rising sea levels.
Locally, $13.6 million is earmarked in the bill for SMART's Russian River Rail Bridge Rehabilitation project in Healdsburg, a key impediment to the line reaching Healdsburg. The funds were requested by U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, and would go toward repairing/replacing the bridge span that dates to 1921.
SMART has already secured a $3.4 million grant from the Sonoma County Transportation Authority to match the proposed federal dollars and complete the bridge replacement project, now pegged at $17 million, Huffman's office said in a news release.
Another $7 million is earmarked in the bill for the Resilient SR 37 Corridor Enhancement in Sonoma, funds that were requested by U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Napa. And the Napa Valley Vine Trail would get $3 million for the St. Helena extension if the infrastructure bill passes.
The surface transportation and water spending bill prioritizes a Democratic wish list of projects for combating climate change. Democratic legislators argued that the funding is needed to contend with the effects of climate change and reduce the nation's carbon footprint.
The unprecedented heat wave gripping the Pacific Northwest, killing dozens, added a sense of urgency among Democrats, who pushed the bill forward this week over Republican objections in the House.
"We have to rebuild in ways that we never even thought about before," Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, told The New York Times. "This is the moment. We have to be bold."
Click here to see all California projects that would be funded under the current bill.Patch staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.
By:
Maggie Fusek
Source:
Patch
HEALDSBURG, CA — The U.S. House of Representatives approved a $715 billion infrastructure plan, and if the Senate passes it, it will mean $13.6 million for the SMART Russian River Rail Bridge Rehabilitation project in Healdsburg.
If President Joe Biden signs it into law, it would be the nation's largest infrastructure investment in about 75 years: a 50 percent increase over the last infrastructure budget, according to The New York Times.
California would be a big winner under the proposed law. The bill includes more than $900 million for projects throughout the Golden State. They include bridges, bike lanes and express lanes, railway expansions, electric vehicle charging stations, zero-emission transit fleets, tunnels, transportation hubs, wastewater and drinking water projects and other infrastructure to prepare for rising sea levels.
Locally, $13.6 million is earmarked in the bill for SMART's Russian River Rail Bridge Rehabilitation project in Healdsburg, a key impediment to the line reaching Healdsburg. The funds were requested by U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, and would go toward repairing/replacing the bridge span that dates to 1921.
SMART has already secured a $3.4 million grant from the Sonoma County Transportation Authority to match the proposed federal dollars and complete the bridge replacement project, now pegged at $17 million, Huffman's office said in a news release.
Another $7 million is earmarked in the bill for the Resilient SR 37 Corridor Enhancement in Sonoma, funds that were requested by U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Napa. And the Napa Valley Vine Trail would get $3 million for the St. Helena extension if the infrastructure bill passes.
The surface transportation and water spending bill prioritizes a Democratic wish list of projects for combating climate change. Democratic legislators argued that the funding is needed to contend with the effects of climate change and reduce the nation's carbon footprint.
The unprecedented heat wave gripping the Pacific Northwest, killing dozens, added a sense of urgency among Democrats, who pushed the bill forward this week over Republican objections in the House.
"We have to rebuild in ways that we never even thought about before," Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, told The New York Times. "This is the moment. We have to be bold."
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