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FY10 INHOFE APPROPRIATIONS REQUESTS – Transportation/HUD

Contacts: Jared Young 202-224-5762
Kathryn Junk 202-224-1282

May 15, 2009

In order to ensure even greater transparency in the oversight of congressionally directed spending items, Senator Inhofe is making information available on funding sought for the Fiscal Year 2010 appropriations bills on his website. Senator Inhofe has a proud record of ensuring funding for roadway and military infrastructure, hospitals and schools, among other important investments, is brought back to Oklahoma. Importantly, each of Senator Inhofe's requests requires authorizing authority. It is important to note that if not for congressionally directed spending, the money would still be spent, but under the direction of the Executive branch. As demonstrated in 2007, the most recent time Congressional directed funding was not used, the Executive Branch and unelected bureaucrats cannot be relied upon to meet Oklahoma's priorities like Oklahoma's elected officials.

If anyone has questions with any of these requests, please contact Senator Inhofe's office.

· Airport Road Project

Ø Organization: City of El Reno

Ø Amount Requested: $1,400,000

Ø Purpose: This funding would be used for the reconstruction of a 2.8 mile stretch of Airport Rd. in El Reno, Okla. that stretches from south of Interstate I-40 in El Reno to the El Reno Municipal Airport.

Ø Justification: Major base failures exist in the right side driving lane in both directions, due to the fact that the road was not engineered to withstand the amount of traffic or weight of the traffic traveling the road. The road is also not wide enough to support pickup truck with trailers and, especially, tractor trailer rigs that encounter each other during travel on the road. As the vehicles move to the right for on-coming traffic, the edge of the road breaks off, due to the lack of a road shoulder. The breakage, along with an inadequate base has allowed water to get under the road and cause further damage. This road was not originally designed for the increasing amount of farming, oil field, gas production and additional commerce/passenger vehicle travel it has encountered in the last four years. As a result of these factors, this section of Airport Rd. is in very poor condition. Also, response times for emergency personnel have been much delayed due to the poor and dangerous road conditions.

Ø Authorization: STP (Surface Transportation Program) (Section 133 of Chapter 1 of Title23, United States Code (USC). Part of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA), 12/18/91)

· Auditorium Upgrades

Ø Organization: Western Oklahoma State College

Ø Amount Requested: $750,000

Ø Purpose: This funding would be used to add an additional upper balcony to the WOSC Auditorium or to expand northward into the current foyer. This includes new carpets, installation of 200 to 300 additional seats, etc. WOSC has currently out grown the current 700 person seating capacity for its Fine Arts Auditorium. The original auditorium was built to add the extension of approximately 200-300 seats if it was required in the future.

Ø Justification: This expansion will allow Western Oklahoma State College to "qualify" as an appropriate site for many national, regional and state events. These additional seats would allow the community to have access to many groups who can bring quality entertainment, educational presentations, and community forums. In the initial construction of this project, it would take approximately 15 workers including architectural staff, construction site workers, and maintenance staff to maintain the facility. The results in job creation would be in providing a venue for hosting activities, professional development opportunities, community activities which would ultimately result in numerous individuals throughout the local, regional, state, and national levels.

Ø Authorization: EDI (Economic Development Initiative) (EDI is authorized by Section 108q of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as amended and 42 U.S.C. 5308 - Law in effect as of 1/3/06) EDI provides grants to local governments to enhance both the security of loans guaranteed through the Section 108 Loan Program and the feasibility of the economic development and revitalization projects they finance.

· City-Wide Road Repair Reconstruction

Ø Organization: City of McAlester

Ø Amount Requested: $2,000,000

Ø Purpose: This project consists of resurfacing numerous streets located within the City of McAlester. The City of McAlester has approximately 154 miles of hard surfaced roadways within the city limits. Approximately 10% of the city streets are in severe need of major repairs.

Ø Justification: This project will allow continued growth and economic expansion of one of the largest cities in the district which serves as a transportation hub for the middle United States being linked to the North and the South by U.S. Highway 69 and the Indian Nation Turnpike and linked to the West by U.S. Highway 270 and U.S. Highway 31. In addition, McAlester is the home of the United States Army Ammunition Depot, one of the primary providers of the ammunition for our Country’s military.

· Courthouse Annex Construction

Ø Organization: Jackson County Commissioners Office

Ø Amount Requested: $7,000,000

Ø Purpose: This funding will be used for the construction of an annex to their courthouse.

Ø Justification: Jackson County has a great need to expand current facilities due to lack of space. Building an annex would be the first step to meeting demand on existing courtrooms. Preservation of records is necessary, and they need additional storage space for this purpose. Added office space is needed to tie two facilities together and remodel existing offices to new configuration to meet current and future needs.

· Edmond Road – 7^th Street to Cemetery Road

Ø Organization: City of Piedmont

Ø Amount Requested: $275,000

Ø Purpose: Funds requested for this project would be used to design and construct the new roadway and make any necessary improvements to the drainage structures along the road.

Ø Justification: Edmond Road is Piedmont’s main east-west thoroughfare, as well as one of the main roads connecting Piedmont with the Oklahoma City metro area. This half mile of road fronts a high school and residential developments. It is an oil and chip road which is in very poor condition due to the very heavy traffic flows, which continue to increase. Improving the road to an asphalt surface will remove the hazards of potholes and failing road edges that currently exist. This is especially important due to the regular school bus traffic on this road. Improving the transportation corridor will attract more businesses to the area, providing much needed jobs.

· Foreign Trade Zone #227 Industrial Access Road Improvements

Ø Organization: Rural Enterprises of Oklahoma, Inc. (REI)

Ø Amount Requested: $750,000

Ø Purpose: REI is requesting federal funds to expand the industrial road access to REI’s Foreign Trade Zone #227 in Durant, Oklahoma. REI was designated a Foreign Trade Zone in 1998. A Foreign Trade Zone is a secured area of land within the boundaries of the United States but considered OUTSIDE of the U.S. Customs Territory. Customs entry procedures do not apply to foreign merchandise when admitted to the Zone because the Zone is considered to be in international commerce (not in U.S. Commerce territory). The objective of the FTZ is to provide businesses with global market opportunities and attract new economic development activity.

Ø Justification: FTZ #227 is the only foreign trade zone in the southeastern part of Oklahoma and the first zone in the state to operate outside the ports of Oklahoma City and Tulsa. FTZ #227 located in Durant, Oklahoma provides opportunities for Oklahoma businesses to compete in the global marketplace by taking their products and services to the world. The FTZ program lowers the costs of US-based operations engaged in international trade and the result is the creation and retention of US-based economic activity. The FTZ Industrial Road Access Expansion and Improvements project will help to boost the local, regional and state economy in terms of providing greater access to the businesses along the NAFTA Corridor.

· Full Depth Repair of City Streets

Ø Organization: City of Miami

Ø Amount Requested: $2,100,000

Ø Purpose: The funding would be used to reconstruct 468,897 square yards of their city streets. Major emergency routes can be addressed by repairing 25,518 square yards in this category. The failure mode most prevalent is base failure contributing to surface pot holes and hazardous road conditions.

Ø Justification: Full depth repairs are needed when milling and overlay repairs have been ignored. This type of repair is more intrusive and needed because of sub-grade failure. A dollar spent today on this repair method eliminates serious street related traffic problems and accidents. Unattended street problems degenerate to greater cost levels every three years. Initial assistance saves the state and country dollars exponentially. Bad streets create driving hazards, vehicle repairs and are counterproductive in encouraging economic growth.

· Glenpool Project

Ø Organization: City of Glenpool

Ø Amount Requested: $2,000,000

Ø Purpose: Funding is requested for the development and design phasing plan for a shared campus between Tulsa Community College and Glenpool Public Schools and an early college high school program.

Ø Justification: This facility will allow for Glenpool public Schools to increase course offerings and provide students the ability to attain college credit while in high school, and allow Tulsa Community College (TCC) to expand to meet the growth of the communities it serves. The shared facilities maximize the use of taxpayer funds by allowing for cost-sharing of expenses. This collaboration will implement a higher education program that will benefit not only adult students who desire to go back and obtain a higher degree, but also allow current students to pursue goals currently unavailable to them. Ultimately, the project aims to increase the education of potential employees, managers, and business owners in the area, thus increasing their marketability and resulting in economic benefits to the region and state. Additionally, any resident of Glenpool will be allowed to attend TCC for free for two years.

· I-40 Boulevard Construction

Ø Organization: City of Oklahoma City

Ø Amount Requested: $1,000,000

Ø Purpose: This funding would be used for the final phase of the project to replace the existing elevated highway with a grade boulevard as part of the neighborhood mitigation required by the project. Oklahoma City needs the funding to initiate work that will allow the boulevard to be built when the new I-40 Crosstown is completed.

Ø Justification: The boulevard is the primary project to allow for the mitigation of negative impacts to neighborhoods caused by the alignment of I-40 through downtown Oklahoma City. As a result, approximately 750 acres of land between downtown’s central core and the Oklahoma River has been isolated by the current elevated Interstate-40 constructed in 1959. The isolated area has suffered from disinvestment, underutilization, and brownfields impacts since that time. The area could be further impacted by the new relocation of the Interstate 40 freeway alignment unless the boulevard construction and mitigation program are implemented. It is critical that potential positive impacts and redevelopment opportunities engendered by the relocation are maximized and negative impacts minimized. The project is a top priority for ODOT and will continue to receive state transportation funding.

Ø Authorization: TCSP (Transportation, Community and System Preservation Program) (Public Law 109-59 “Highway Bill”, 8/10/05) Under TCSP, states, metropolitan planning organizations, local governments, and tribal governments are eligible for discretionary grants to carry out eligible projects to integrate transportation, community, and system preservation plans and practices that: (1) Improve the efficiency of the transportation system of the United States. Reduce environmental impacts of transportation. (2)Reduce the need for costly future public infrastructure investments. (3)Ensure efficient access to jobs, services, and centers of trade.(4) Examine community development patterns and identify strategies to encourage private sector development patterns and investments that support these goals.

· I-40/ Hudiburg Drive Improvements

Ø Organization: City of Midwest City

Ø Amount Requested: $1,364,400

Ø Purpose: The funds would be used for scenic public improvements, replacement of deteriorated interstate boundary fencing, and service road overlay along Interstate 40. Modifications will be made to Short Street at Hudiburg Drive to bring the unimproved local street up to code.

Ø Justification: Efforts to update the frontage to I-40 in Midwest City will reflect well upon the local community, and also upon the larger metro area. The general public will benefit from the referenced public improvements, justifying the use of city and federal taxpayer dollars. 29 jobs will created as a result of this project.

· Kelley Avenue and BNSF Railroad Grade Separation

Ø Organization: City of Edmond

Ø Amount Requested: $20,000,000

Ø Purpose: The funds would be used to provide grade separation between Kelley Avenue and the Burlington Northern Railroad crossing north of the US 77. Kelley Avenue is not continuous through the existing intersection. The alignment for Kelley will be made continuous through the interchange with Memorial Road and will include a new four-way intersection. The new interchange will include a direct access exit ramp for traffic northbound on Kelley.

Ø Justification: City of Edmond officials are concerned that traffic backups occur at this crossing of Kelley Avenue and the railroad and cause dangerous conditions for motorists exiting the Broadway Extension going north of Kelly.

· Metrology and Manufacturing for Aerospace

Ø Organization: University of Oklahoma (OU)

Ø Amount Requested: $1,700,000

Ø Purpose: This funding would be used for the purchase equipment for a cutting-edge laboratory for focused research that will transform Oklahoma into the Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) capital of the world for commercial and military aircraft.

Justification: Our project aims to help the US sustain the prominent position it has held in the aircraft world for several decades, particularly in MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul). They hope to develop a workforce in cutting-edge technologies to support MRO in Oklahoma. The center will provide training, organize workshops, and offer classroom and internet-based courses in advanced technologies to keep the state’s aerospace workforce be among the nation’s best. They hope to help retain a significant portion of the hundreds of millions of dollars of funds allocated by regional aerospace companies and logistics centers that currently go out-of-state for contractual services. They hope to empower the development of new small businesses that focus on high technology solutions and help in the retraining and orientation of the recently displaced workers from the automotive and other industries.

Ø Authorization: FAA, Facilities and Equipment - Federal Aviation Act (49 U.S.C. App. 1301 et seq.), as amended. The Facilities and Equipment program develops and acquires the products and services that enable the FAA to enhance the safety of the national airspace system and satisfy current and future operational needs of the system for national and international operations.

· Piedmont Police/ Municipal Building Construction

Ø Organization: City of Piedmont

Ø Amount Requested: $2,713,258

Ø Purpose: This funding would be used to construct an all-new 14,393 sq. ft. Police/Municipal Court building, which would give Piedmont a building suitable for its purposes that would last for years, would be more energy efficient and would comply with all State and Federal laws. Additionally this construction contemplates renovation and improvements to the existing municipal building, the cost of which is included in the requested amount.

Ø Justification: Currently the Piedmont Police Department is operating out of a substandard metal building, which it leases. The building has many structural issues, as well as having insufficient space for the additional officers that have been added to keep up with Piedmonts population growth. The existing Municipal building also has no room to add employees, and the current staff is operating in very tight quarters with no storage space. Constructing a new Police Headquarters will allow for greater efficiency of operations, including dispatch for both Police and Fire, as well as temporarily holding suspects. Expansion of the Municipal offices will allow for better storage of records and supplies, as well as allowing the staff to operate more efficiently. It will also keep the city form expending operating funds on lease payments.

· Pogue Airport Access Road

Ø Organization: City of Sand Springs

Ø Amount Requested: $2,000,000

Ø Purpose: This funding would be used to design and construct approximately one mile of grading drainage and surfacing of a road to connect the existing Sand Springs West Highway Bypass directly with the existing Airport Access Road, improving ground transportation access to Sand Springs-Pogue Airport and improving neighborhood safety by rerouting vehicular traffic to the airport area via the new connecting road, rather than continuing to use the neighborhood streets.

Ø Justification: The connector road will provide an efficient means of vehicular access to the airport, with a more direct roadway alignment more attractive to business traffic by users of the airport. Improved access to the airport is expected to lead to the attraction of other aviation related businesses expected to locate at the airport. This growth and expansion will create aviation-related jobs at the airport which are expected to have average wages of $55,000 per year. Those aviation-related wages compare to a current average wage of $29,000 per year in the area. With increased activity and marketing emphasis, there is projected to be potential for more than 100 aviation related jobs to be created at Sand Springs – Pogue Airport within the next 10 years, which will significantly impact the local and regional economy.

· Public Safety Center

Ø Organization: City of Clinton

Ø Amount Requested: $2,550,000

Ø Purpose: The funding for this project would be used to replace the dilapidated and non-functional state and local facilities with modern state-of-the-art facilities strategically located regionally and locally to better serve the emergency needs of our citizens. The Clinton Public Safety Center will replace three aging, inefficient, and ineffective facilities located remotely from one another into a single strategically located campus in immediate proximity to City Hall in the heart of downtown Clinton. The center would be home to the headquarters of Troop H of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, the Clinton Police Department, the Clinton Fire Department, and a shared state-of-the-art Dispatch/Training Center.

Ø Justification: The successful completion of the Safety Center will provide superior facilities for all of the emergency responders that serve not only our immediate community, but the entire region. Clinton is the communications hub for a six county E-911 regional dispatch system. The facilities will be energy efficient in every regard and thereby relieve the State and City of operating expenses related to energy usage. The facilities will allow for safer access to major transportation arteries and quicker response times for emergency situations.

· Robinson Grade Separation

Ø Organization: City of Norman

Ø Amount Requested: $12,826,000

Ø Purpose: Funding for this project would provide for the construction of grade separation structures carrying both Robinson Street and Lindsey Street under the BNSF Railroad in Norman.

Ø Justification: The two primary streets in Norman carrying the heaviest traffic over at-grade railroad crossings are Robinson Street on the north and Lindsey Street on the south. Thus, these two at-grade crossings present severe traffic and safety impediments to the citizens of Norman. The proposed project will provide convenient, continuous access across the railroad near the hospital complex and near the heart of the OU campus.

· Rogers County Elevated Track Project

Ø Organization: City of Claremore

Ø Amount Requested: $5,000,000

Ø Purpose: Funding is requested for the construction to elevate the BNSF Railroad through the community of Claremore, including earthwork, bridge construction, and intersection improvements.

Ø Justification: Removing this physical barrier will open up large areas of the city which are undeveloped or need to be redeveloped. The current traffic patterns are significantly hindered by the repetitive delays by the trains. Removing this barrier will provide an immediate benefit to the inter-city commerce and promote shopping to all regional visitors in our city. There is a real traffic hazard obstructing the flow of traffic. Inter-city travel is hindered as well as the thousands of regional drivers passing through our city daily. The at-grade intersections are not just an in

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