New Effort By NorCal Congressman To Derail SF Central Subway Project
WASHINGTON (CBS SF) - An amendment to the latest U.S. transportation funding bill could stop construction of San Francisco's much-debated Central Subway in its tracks.
The bill was slated for a vote on Capitol Hill Friday.
Currently, the Central Subway project, which would connect San Francisco's Chinatown to the Caltrain station at 4th and King streets, needs almost $1 billion in additional transportation funding to be completed.
Not so fast, warned Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Granite Bay), who has introduced an amendment forbidding any additional federal expenditures on the project.
"It's one of the most scandalous boondoggles in the history of such things, a 1.7 mile subway for $1.6 billion," he opined. "That's five times the cost per lane mile of Boston's scandalous Big Dig."
McClintock suggested that the project is poorly planned and opposed by a broad coalition of San Francisco residents and organizations, including the Sierra Club and Save Muni.
KCBS' Anna Duckworth Reports:
The question remained to be seen whether McClintock's efforts would success - in the wake of a failed effort a year ago.
"We expect the same result this time, as this project has support from all levels of government," said Paul Rose with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. "We expect the full funding grant agreement sometime next month."
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