BESTEA Pork Analysis
Press Release
September 18, 1997
Section 117. Federal Lands Highway Program.
JFK Center Access. Authorizes $500,000 in FY 1998 for a study of methods to improve pedestrian and vehicular access to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
New River Parkway, W.V. Visitor Center. Authorizes $12.4 million over three years for a visitor center for the New River Parkway in West Virginia. Located in the district of committee member Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.V.).
Section 118. National Scenic Byways Program.
National Scenic Byways Program and Center. Authorizes $4.5 million over three years for the National Scenic Byways Program and construction of a National Scenic Byways Center in Duluth, Minn. Located in the district of the committee’s ranking Democrat Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.).
Section 130. Transportation Assistance for Olympic Cities.
Priority Status for Olympic Projects. Allows the Transportation Secretary to give priority to transportation projects related to an Olympic event. The 2002 Olympics will be held in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the district of committee member Rep. Merrill Cook (R-Utah).
Section 133. Eligibility.
Cuyahoga River Bridge, Ohio. Cuyahoga River Bridge in Ohio is eligible to receive funds under the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program [U.S. Code Title 23, section 104(b)(2)]. (No dollar amounts given).
Northeast Ohio Transportation History Museum. A museum devoted to the history of transportation and industry in Northeast Ohio and the U.S., developed with cooperation from the private sector and the State of Ohio. Eligible for assistance through the Surface Transportation Program [U.S. Code Title 23, section 133(d)(2)]. Located in the Cleveland district of committee member Rep. Steven LaTourette. (No dollar amounts given).
Rail Museum in Princeton, W.V. A museum devoted to railroad history shall be available for assistance under the Surface Transportation Program. Located in the home state of Rep. Nick Rahall, ranking Democrat on the Surface Transportation Committee, and Rep. Bob Wise, ranking Democrat on the Railroads Subcommittee. (No dollar amounts given).
Bus Museum in Hibbing, Minn. A museum devoted to intercity bus history shall be eligible for assistance through the Surface Transportation Program. Located in the district of the full committee’s ranking Democrat, Rep. James Oberstar. (No dollar amounts given).
Section 134. Fiscal, Administrative, and Other Amendments.
Special Hauling Privileges. Vehicles designed to carry 2 or more precast concrete panels shall be considered a nondivisible load in Colorado.
Special Hauling Privileges. Vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of 100,000 lbs. for hauling sugarcane during the harvest season (not to exceed 100 days annually) are allowed in Louisiana, with a special permit.
Section 136. Amendments to ISTEA.
The Mon-Fayette Expressway. Amends the 1991 ISTEA Act to make the Mon-Fayette Expressway and Southern Beltway in Pennsylvania a “high priority corridor.” Located in the home state of the full committee chairman Rep. Bud Shuster. (No dollar amounts given).
The Wisconsin Development Corridor. Amends the 1991 ISTEA Act to make the Wisconsin Development Corridor (from Dubuque, Iowa to the Upper Mississippi River Basin near Eau Claire, Wisc.) a “high priority corridor.” Located in the home state of subcommittee chairman Rep. Thomas Petri. (No dollar amounts given).
Section 308. Capital Program Grants and Loans.
Bus Technology Pilot Program. Authorizes the Transportation Secretary to establish a pilot program for the testing and deployment of new bus technology. (No dollar amounts given).
Section 311. Research, Development, Demonstration, and Training Projects.
Advanced Technology Pilot Project. Authorizes the Transportation Secretary to make grants “for the development of low speed magnetic levitation (mag-lev) technology for public transportation purposes.” Up to $15 million over three years.
Section 325. Fixed Guideway Modernization.
Experimental approach allows computers to control vehicles, allowing more vehicles per highway traveling at higher speeds. Apportion the following under Section 5309 for each of fiscal years 1998, 1999, and 2000, as follows (A total of over $1 billion is allocated for guideways.):
Baltimore. $8.4 million.
Boston. $38.9 million.
Chicago/Northwestern Indiana. $78.1 million.
New York. $176 million
Northeastern New Jersey. $50.6 million.
Alaska Railroad Improvements. $4.8 million.
Section 623. Education and Training Programs.
Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program. Authorizes the Transportation Secretary to establish and implement a transportation research fellowship program to attract qualified students to the field of transportation. Up to $6 million over three years.
University Transportation Research. Authorizes the Transportation Secretary to make grants to 20 nonprofit institutions of higher learning for the development of “university transportation centers.” Up to $48 million over three years.
Appalachian Transportation Institute. Grant to Marshall University, West Virginia, in the amount of up to $6 million over three years, to study the Appalachian region transportation system. Located in the district of committee member Reps. Nick Rahall (D-W.V.).