Vallejo to get $7.6 million in federal transportation funds

Vallejo to get $7.6 million in federal transportation funds
Money will go toward ferry, bus transportation; Vacaville to receive $2.2 million
By Sarah Rohrs/Times-Herald staff writer
Posted: 06/10/2009

Vallejo will get $7,612,324 million in federal stimulus money for a variety of bus and ferry improvements, according to an announcement today from Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez.

The money will be used to renovate the Vallejo Transit bus maintenance facility on Broadway, and to upgrade the Vallejo Ferry terminal on Mare Island Way, city Transportation Department Superintendent Crystal Odum Ford said.

The money also will go toward Vallejo Transit bus preventative measures which will, in turn, free up funds for operating the bus service, Ford said.

This latter use is critical since the city lost a lot of money for bus operations in the state budget crisis, she said.

The city of Vacaville, meanwhile, will receive $2,217.074 for its Vacaville Intermodal Station.

Miller's office announced more than $100 million will go to Bay Area transit projects and more than $400 million on similar projects throughout the state.

The money comes from the $787 billion American Recovery Reinvestment Act (ARRA) approved by Congress earlier this year, Miller's office announced.

"This funding is part of our effort to get Americans back to work by investing in our infrastructure," Miller said, in the announcement.

"These funds will help make our mass transit systems more efficient and less expensive and will help cut our dependence on foreign oil," he added.