WASHINGTON –Congressman Dale E. Kildee (D-MI) announced today that Genesee County would receive a total of $6.9 in federal funding under H.R. 3, the Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (TEA-LU).  Kildee’s funding requests were included in the House-Senate TEA-LU Conference Report, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives today.  The bill is expected to pass the Senate tonight and be sent to the President for his signature.

“I am delighted that I was able to secure funding for transportation projects in Genesee County,” said Kildee. “The goal of each of these projects is to help alleviate congestion, increase economic productivity and expedite the commute for thousands of area residents.  We must devote the necessary financial resources in order to improve and reconstruct roads in Flint and Genesee County that are in desperate need of repair.”

Genesee County will receive $6.9 million in federal funding for these major projects:

·        $2,400,000 for road improvements to Third Ave. from Saginaw St. to Flint River (City of Flint).

·        $2,400,000 for road improvements to Miller Rd. from I-75 to Linden Rd (Flint Township).

·        $1,600,000 for road improvements near Bishop International Airport.

·        $480,000 to fund a feasibility study to extend I-475 to US 23 (Genesee County).

·        $80,000 to construct a pedestrian trail/bridge in Kearsley Park (City of Flint).

In addition to these projects, $125,000,000 in funding was devoted to the planning, design and construction of the I-69 corridor, an international highway which will run from Canada through Flint, south to the Mexican border.  Included in the bill’s National Corridor Infrastructure Improvement Program, I-69 is of vital importance to the Genesee County economy.  While this multi-state project was not a formal request of Congressman Kildee, he has spent several years discussing the need for this corridor with the Chairman and Ranking Democrat of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

The highway bill is the latest reauthorization of the six-year federal highway and transit bill, which provides billions of dollars in federal funding for our nation’s highways and transit systems.  The last bill, known as TEA-21, expired in 2003 and negotiators spent two years covering two separate sessions of Congress to agree to a new bill.   The conference negotiations resulted in cuts of all House member projects as had previously been approved in March when the House passed its version of TEA-LU.

Funding for reauthorization of this bill is provided by the revenue currently available in the Highway Trust Fund.  TEA-LU will provide jobs, help alleviate congestion, increase traffic safety, and improve the quality and accessibility of our nation’s highways.  In  addition to this new authorization, other highway funds will be appropriated annually through the highway process.