UAM, Drew Memorial, Intermodal, and Great River Bridge to get Federal Funding, According to “House”

December 14th, 2009 by Joe Burgess

$475,000 for Southeast Arkansas Intermodal Facility
Funds will be used to construct infrastructure to develop the intermodal and industrial park facility. Improvements will include an access road, water and sewer lines and rail.

$250,000 to Address Critical National Energy and Environmental Issues at University of Arkansas at Monticello
Funding will provide for renovation, construction, and equipment to further the initiatives of Arkansas Forest Resources Center. Diverse research, extension educational outreach and teaching programs encompassing economic expansion and productivity, and environmental sustainability and quality of life issues provide the principal focus to the Center’s mission. The University’s extension programs reach about two million Arkansans per year.

$100,000 for Digital Mamography Equipment at Drew Memorial Hospital
Drew Memorial Hospital will use the funds to purchase a state-of-the-art digital breast imaging machine. The hospital’s current mammography equipment is out-of-date and insufficient in the detection and treatment of cancer nodes.

$1,948,000 for Interstate 69/Great River Bridge: Highway 65-MS Highway 1 (Desha County)
Funds will be used to continue engineering, design, and right-of-way acquisition for I-69/Great River Bridge. This bridge is a portion of a new, four-lane, controlled-access highway.

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U.S. Senators Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor and U.S. Representatives Marion Berry, Vic Snyder, and Mike Ross have announced funding for Arkansas projects contained in a group of fiscal year 2010 spending bills, which passed the House of Representatives. The package will fund a number of federal agencies in the coming year, including the Departments of Transportation, Commerce, Justice, Health and Human Services, Education, and Veterans Affairs. The Senate is expected to vote on the package in the coming days.

Pryor and Berry are members of the Senate and House Appropriations Committees, respectively. Their presence on these committees allows them the opportunity to shape the legislation during the legislative process.

“State and local governments are tightening their belts these days, trying to figure out how they are going to keep law enforcement officers on the streets, make necessary road repairs, spearhead new medical research and make improvements to community medical facilities,” Lincoln said. “Our delegation worked hard to secure critical funding for Arkansas that will help relieve the burden of these tight economic times and strengthen our state now and in the long run. These funds will expand educational opportunity, improve our infrastructure, and train our future workforce. In short, these funds are an investment in Arkansas’s future.”

“This package funds critical transportation, law enforcement, health care and military readiness initiatives that will strengthen our communities and drive economic development throughout Arkansas,” Pryor said. “As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I will continue to allocate dollars where they can be most effective in our state.”

“These federal dollars will support economic development efforts by reinvesting in Arkansas,” said Berry. “When we provide funding for critical projects such as infrastructure, health care and public safety we are taking immediate action to create jobs and strengthen our economy. During these difficult economic times, we must continue to do everything possible to help Arkansas families, businesses and communities get back on their feet.”

“In order to strengthen the American economy for the long term, we need to make some investments in our infrastructure. The funded projects in this bill are excellent investments in Arkansas’s future,” said Snyder. “These investments not only create jobs, they will help us save money in the long-term by making operations and innovative development projects better and more efficient.”

“During these tough economic times, we should focus on putting people back to work,” Ross said. “I will never shy away from working to secure federal investments for our state’s many infrastructure, education, agriculture and local law enforcement needs. Investments in these critical areas save and create jobs and put many of our local communities on a path to sustained economic growth.”

The list above show’s southeast Arkansas’s priorities included in the legislation: