U.S. Representative Richard Pombo (R-11th) assured Pleasanton Rotarians that federal help is on the way to reduce traffic congestion on area freeways while also improving the country’s energy self-sufficiency.
In a 20-minute presentation to the Downtown Rotary Club, the congressman said he is intensifying his focus on transportation and energy issues, both as Chairman of the House Resources Committee and in close liaison with the House Transportation Committee. Specifically, he said he wants to:
* Move cargo now being carried on trucks on I-580 east from the Port of Oakland onto barges that can transport the freight along a deepened waterway to the Port of Stockton, taking at least 1,300 trucks a day off the freeway.
* Build a new freeway along a realigned old State Hwy. 130 from Patterson on Interstate 5 to Hwy. 101, just south of San Jose.
* Increase carpool capacity on Interstates 580 and 680, including adding toll lanes that might exempt hybrid vehicles as well as carpoolers.
* Extend and improve BART and ACE commuter service to make these rail routes more attractive for commuters who now drive to work.
* Add incentives and open more public land for the extraction of oil and natural gas.
* Work to put into place a national energy policy that will encourage the development of alternative energy sources, including nuclear, as well as modes of transportation that will use little if any fossil fuels.
Earlier in the day, Pombo, who is seeking re-election Nov. 7 to an eighth term in office, hosted a visit by Acting U.S. Secretary of Transportation Maria Cino to Pleasanton, preceded by a look at traffic congestion on I-580 at Flynn Road on the Altamont Pass. But, as Pombo told the Rotarians, the visit took place at 10 a.m. on a hot August morning the week before schools opened when many commuters and their families were on vacation.
“Unfortunately, when Secretary Cino was out there, we had light traffic and the cars were moving right along,” he said. “Still, I think she got the idea.”
Later, at a roundtable discussion, Cino said that she sees traffic-choked freeways all the time in the Washington, D.C. area and has committed her department to increasing its support of relief measures.
“It’s clear that this region faces some of the toughest transportation challenges in the country, but it’s also clear the nation can learn from the innovative solutions being put to work here to keep traffic moving.”
Still, she made no commitment to increase spending in the region.
The roundtable included representatives from about 20 highway and transportation-related agencies and county governments, including more from private firms that serve as contractors and consultants on road-building and design projects. Except for a review of current transportation plans, no new proposals or funding commitments were made.
In his remarks at Pleasanton Rotary, however, Pombo talked about the country’s transportation and energy dilemma.
“We have problems that have been 30 years in the making,” he said. “We have done almost nothing over the last 30 years to deal with mounting traffic problems. In the last 30 years, no new major oil or natural gas fields have opened up. We haven’t built a single refinery in over 30 years.”
“At one time, one-third of our energy came from foreign countries,” he added. “Today, 30 years later, two-thirds of our energy comes from abroad. Now we are starting to import liquefied natural gas to meet our dwindling output for that fuel. This will impact every one of us because in California over half of our electricity is produced by natural gas. So when you triple the price of gas, we will all pay more for our electricity.”
He said the development of alternative fuels is under way along with more fuel efficient cars, but that fossil fuels will remain a major component of the country’s energy needs for years to come. Both in his House Resources Committee and with the help of Congress and the Administration, Pombo wants to open drilling for oil and natural gas on more federally-managed lands, including the Alaska Natural Wildlife preserve, and offshore. Already, states such as Georgia, Virginia, South Carolina and more Gulf states favor more offshore drilling.
He also supported building nuclear power plants, “again, which we haven’t done for the last 30 years.”
“In the meantime, the European Union gets over half its power from nuclear; France gets 80 percent from nuclear,” Pombo said. “Most of those plants are being built and serviced with U.S. technology.”
Changes in nuclear siting and permitting requirements may improve the interests of U.S. companies to invest in nuclear plants again, Pombo said, with three power plants under consideration–one in the Upper Midwest and two in the South.
As for his proposals to realign and build an expressway along Highway 30–a project nicknamed the Pombo Freeway–the congressman said he gained funding in the last Transportation Bill to undertake a feasibility study for the roadway. As proposed, it would be a toll road except for vehicles with an EPA rating of 35 miles per gallon or higher, or for carpoolers. Financial incentives would be made available to property owners along the proposed route to encourage them to restrict their land uses to agriculture only, not for development.
Pombo said he’s not the first to propose a freeway along Rte. 130. It was first proposed to become an expressway in 1926, but that plan was shelved. It came up again in the 1950s, but was dropped from a freeway construction list. It was even discussed again in the early 1970s, but not until now, with federal funding appropriated to seriously consider the new freeway, has the proposal gained strength.
