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Congresswoman Waters Celebrates Groundbreaking of the Crenshaw/LAX Corridor

January 28, 2014

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-43) joined with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx, and local elected officials to break ground on the Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor, for which she worked tirelessly to secure federal support. The federal government is expected to provide approximately $160 million for the project, as well as a $546 million loan, which will be repaid with local funds.

"I am pleased to celebrate the groundbreaking of the Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor," said Congresswoman Waters. "This corridor will provide service to several communities in and around my district in both the Cities of Los Angeles and Inglewood, and it will give residents access to work, school, shopping, entertainment, and everything else Los Angeles has to offer. The Leimert Park station, in particular, will provide access to a vibrant center of African-American culture, and the Hindry station will give my constituents in Westchester access to light rail."

The corridor project received a $20 million federal grant from the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery or "TIGER" program, which Congresswoman Waters supported. Last spring, she introduced H.R.1124, the TIGER Grants for Job Creation Act. Congresswoman Waters also circulated a letter to House appropriators in support of TIGER, and more than 100 Members of Congress signed the letter. The omnibus funding bill, which passed Congress last week, also included $600 million for TIGER.

"I support TIGER because it creates jobs through investments in transportation infrastructure," stated Congresswoman Waters. "And I look forward to helping Metro obtain additional TIGER grants for projects like this one."

Congresswoman Waters also realizes that there are still some concerns in the community about aspects of the corridor project. Specifically, the City of Inglewood is concerned about the intersection of Florence and Centinela being at grade, and the Crenshaw community is concerned about part of the Crenshaw Blvd. section not being underground.

"I understand these concerns, but overall, this project is a great investment," she added. "The Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor is a great example of federal, state and local officials working together, and I am proud to be a part of it."

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