 Still needs to reach the Senate floor for approval September 10, 2003
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski on Monday welcomed Senate Appropriations Committee approval of several of her transportation funding requests in the Senate Transportation and Treasury Appropriations bill for FY 04 that cleared the panel recently. Murkowski said she was happy by the decision of the committee to include $10 million for "uplands" development at the Ketchikan Shipyard in Southeast. The funding, intended for buildings at the shipyard, should help the shipyard expand its services, aiding Ketchikan's economy and repairing ships, such as the state's ferry fleet, said Murkowski. Senator Murkowski also won approval for two more projects that she had requested. The panel approved $1.5 million to pave Keystone to accommodate the heavy visitor traffic in summer to the popular fishing areas outside of Soldotna. And the Senator saw the Appropriations Committee, chaired by colleague Sen. Ted Stevens, approve $500,000 for intersection safety/ traffic control devices at the intersection shared by Bartlett High School and Elmendorf AFB in northern Anchorage. Murkowski also said she was pleased that the panel approved a request for $3 million to go to Fairbanks for construction of a new Fairbanks transit bus replacement facility. The bus facility money will aid mass transit in the Fairbanks area and help reduce our emissions as more people begin using bus service. "The Ketchikan and Soldotna funding is very important to support economic development in Southeast and on the Kenai Peninsula. The shipyard is a vital part of Ketchikan's economy and the attractions on Keystone Drive are increasingly important to tourism on the Kenai and to the people who live in the area. The funding for Fairbanks and Anchorage are equally important to promote safety in Anchorage and to protect mass transit operations in Fairbanks. In this tight budget year, we are fortunate that these worthy projects all gained funding," said Murkowski. The transportation appropriations
bill still needs to reach the Senate floor for approval.
Source of News Release:
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September 12, 2003 - Correction: The funding for uplands development
at the Ketchikan Shipyard was NOT included in the Department
of Transportation Appropriations Bill as was reported in this
news release.