Pelosi Statement on Recovery Funds Allocated to Doyle Drive
Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami/Drew Hammill, 202-226-7616
Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement in response to $46,000,000 awarded today to the Presidio Parkway/Doyle Drive Replacement Project through a Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act:
"Today’s announcement is extremely welcome news for San Francisco and the Bay Area, and a significant step toward replacing the aging and unsafe Doyle Drive with a new Presidio Parkway that connects San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Presidio. These funds will mean less congestion, less traffic, safer roadways, and shorter commute times as we greatly improve the seismic safety of the roadway and eliminate dangerous conditions for the 100,000 drivers and 18,000 transit riders who use Doyle Drive every day.
"One year after President Obama signed the Recovery Act into law, this unprecedented measure continues to generate jobs and lay a foundation for economic growth by rebuilding our infrastructure, supporting our schools and health clinics, cutting taxes for 95 percent of working Americans, and creating the clean energy jobs of tomorrow. Having already created or saved 2 million jobs nationwide, the Recovery Act will continue to invest in our workforce, putting people back to work in California and across the country.
"As a longtime supporter of the Presidio Parkway project, I have worked to secure $18 million in federal funding over the last five years – on top of the $50 million investment of Recovery Act funding received last year and the $46 million awarded today. I will continue to work with city, state and federal officials to relieve traffic congestion, protect our environment by cutting carbon emissions, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and invest in infrastructure for the future so that we can meet the transportation and safety needs of those in San Francisco and throughout the nation."
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Background:
As the access road to the Golden Gate Bridge, Doyle Drive is an essential link between San Francisco and the North Bay. Built in 1936, Doyle Drive on U.S. 101 serves as the southern approach to the Golden Gate Bridge. This badly deteriorated structure is designated a Post Disaster Recovery Route and is the only route between the San Francisco peninsula and northern California counties. Unfortunately, the current roadway is reaching the end of its useful life. The Federal Highway Administration ranks Doyle Drive as the fifth worst bridge in the nation and the worst in California for structural sufficiency. Construction on the new Presidio Parkway began in late 2009 and is scheduled to be completed in 2013.