Edwards Secures $600,000 to Reduce Road Congestion in Brazos County As Bill Passes House

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Edwards Secures $600,000 to Reduce Road Congestion in Brazos County As Bill Passes House

U.S. Representative Chet Edwards announced that he has secured $600,000 for the Brazos Valley Transportation Management Center to study ways to reduce road congestion and plan for future growth in the Brazos Valley. Edwards added the funding in the 2008 Transportation, HUD, and Treasury Appropriations bill, which was passed by the House Tuesday.

"Reducing congestion is a safety, quality of life, and economic development issue in Brazos County, and I am thrilled my request for important transportation investments was approved," said Edwards, a senior member of the Appropriations Committee. "I want to commend local leaders in Brazos County for requesting support for this important project," said Edwards.

The $600,000 secured by Edwards for the Brazos Valley Transportation Management Center will help complete the project when added to the $400,000 Edwards secured in 2005. The Transportation Management Center is a partnership between the cities of Bryan and College Station, Brazos County, and the Texas Transportation Institute. This partnership will develop, test, and deploy advanced traffic management concepts, and systems to address the problem of local road congestion. It could also become a national model for easing congestion in communities similar in size to Bryan-College Station. "As I have listened to community leaders and citizens throughout Brazos County, they have repeatedly said that improving roads and highways is key to economic growth and bringing in new businesses to Brazos County. This was a good example of good people working together in good faith to invest in an important project," said Edwards.

The bill must still pass the Senate and be signed by the President.

"I will continue to work hard in the months ahead in support of this locally initiated project," concluded Edwards.

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