Talafofo bridge project in transportation equity bill

Resident Representative Pete A. Tenorio breathed a sigh of relief Thursday, after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the $284-billion “Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users,” containing a passage that provides for the construction of the Talafofo bridge project.

“This is a major piece of legislation, and it is good to see such bipartisan support of the bill, with 417 members of the House voting in favor,” said Tenorio.

Included in H.R. 3 is the $12 million for the planning, design and construction of the East Coast Highway, Route 36 connecting the road by Kingfisher Golf Course to the road adjacent to Bird Island. The road would include an approximately 150 ft bridge over a ravine, replacing a bridge that had been washed out by a typhoon years ago.

“This road is important to the development of the northeastern part of the island. It will allow easier access to tourist sites, and agricultural sites, and we should be able to encourage investment and small business development in the area,” said Tenorio. “Both Gov. Juan N. Babauta and I had written [House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee] chair [Don] Young requesting his support to include this project in the bill, and he is such a good friend of the people of the CNMI, he did not forget us.”

Tenorio conceded that there is still the challenge of getting the bill through the U.S. Senate. Last year, a similar bill passed the House (H.R. 3550), and a quite different version (S 1072) passed the Senate.

“Unfortunately no agreement was reached on the differences between the two, and work on this bill which reauthorizes funds for Federal-aid highways, highway safety programs, and transit programs had to begin again with the 109th Congress,” said Tenorio. “We will just have to wait and see, what the Senate does this year, but I feel confident that we will have a transportation spending plan this year, and that the CNMI will be benefit from it.”

In 2003, Babauta developed a project plan and met with Young to discuss the inclusion of the CNMI in the multi billion-dollar legislation, using federal highway trust fund revenues. The governor and his key staff also met with the House and Senate committee staff to discuss his Talafofo project plan.

Under this multi billion legislation, each congressional district is given a base allocation to spend on whatever projects they deem critical. But as the CNMI does not have a representative to Congress, no funding under this program had ever been allocated.

Because negotiations with the White House have lowered the total amount of funding for these roadway projects by $20 million, Babauta met with Young in late December to ensure that the CNMI project would be included in the bill.

On March 10, 2005, the U.S. House of Representatives passed HR 3. Included in the bill is $12 million for the planning, design and construction of a highway to connect the road by Kingfisher Golf Links to Bird Island.

The Governor’s Office said that more works remains to be done as the bill still needs to be passed by the U.S. Senate. Babauta and his staff will continue to work the U.S. Congress on the funding for the Talafofo roadway project. (PR)