Political Quotes

“H.R. 4653 repeals a 20-year-old prohibition on the use of certain Federal transit funds to tunnel in the San Fernando Valley area west of Los Angeles. In 1985, an explosion of naturally occurring methane gas blew up a department store in the Wilshire Boulevard corridor in Los Angeles, injuring 22 people. Concerned about the safety of tunneling in this area of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles City Council created a task force to investigate the explosion. The task force identified methane risk zones along the Wilshire Boulevard corridor. In 1985, the Los Angeles Red Line subway line was in the planning and design stage. Since then, the Red Line has been completely funded and built and has been in operation since 1993, with an extension to North Hollywood that was completed in 2000. The fiscal year 1986 transportation appropriations bill included a legislative provision that prohibits the use of Federal transit funds associated with the Los Angeles project for tunneling in or through an identified methane risk zone. However, in November of 2005, a panel of engineering experts reported that tunneling along the Wilshire Boulevard corridor can be done safely if proper procedures and appropriate techniques are used.”