Editorís note: ECM editors recently went to Washington, D.C. to cover the Lakeville Marching Band in the Inaugural parade. They asked us if we wanted to ask any congressman a question. The PR asked for some information from Sen. Oberstar on progress on the I-35 bridge funding.

By Howard Lestrud
ECM Online Managing Editor

Eighth Dist. Congressman James Oberstar was speaking to ECM Publishers editors last week in his Washington, D.C. office.

Oberstar was asked when grant monies would be available for I-35 bridge design in North Branch. Oberstar said the money was held up with the transportation bill which passed the House and then became locked in conference committee. He said action on this bill was put off until after the election. He also said the White House proved intransigent on this matter.

ìWe have no indications from the White House as to what the Presidentís advisors will support,î Oberstar said.

He expected nothing to be said on the matter in the Inaugural address, not much in the State of the Union message, but possibly more in the budget message to Congress. In late February or early March, a plan may reach committee, he said.

Even though it is no longer in his district, Oberstar said he will be a vigorous advocate for the Northstar Commuter Rail Line and believes it will ìget under wayî in the near future.

Oberstar, the most senior Democrat on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, is hopeful that commuter advances will continue to benefit Minnesota.

Oberstar recently completed a ride from St. Cloud on the BSF, 20 traveling in an inspection car. He said such commuter travel just makes good common sense and it will save lanes of freeway. He has also been active in evaluating the studies of the Rush Line Corridor to St. Paul and involved in looking at the Central Corridor from Minneapolis to St. Paul. He believes there should be rail linkage all the way to Duluth. ìItís the hottest issue,î he said.

Everywhere he travels, Oberstar says he has seen transit in renaissance. Major metropolitan areas are having a million new riders a day. Streetcar and commuter rail systems saw 375 million new riders last year. Americans made 10.5 billion transit trips last year, he said. With the air quality deteriorating and congestion becoming greater, Oberstar said commuter rail travel is desired.
ìInterstate 35 congestion is overwhelming,î he said.

Why is Minnesota ready for a paradigm shift? ìGarrison Keillor tells us that our children are above average,î Oberstar responded. Minnesota is ready for additional commuter rail systems, he said.

Oberstar criticized the actions of former Gov. Jesse Ventura that caused Minnesota to lose $16 million in commuter rail funds back to the highway trust fund.

ìVentura wasnít willing to risk his own personal capital and this failure was a big mistake; he really let down Minnesota. Had he gotten behind it, funding would have been available.î
Ten years ago New York accounted for 60 percent of all transit travel and today it is less than 40 percent, said Oberstar. Dallas rider transit is three times its rider projections on a 20-mile line, so successful they are on their way to build an additional 20 miles, said Oberstar. In Denver their commuter and circulator systems are so successful that they are willing to park their cars and get on and off the rail system when they want to. In Portland, riders can get off and on as many times as they want.

Tracing history, Oberstar said Boise, Idaho, had a thriving streetcar system in the 1880s until the post-war era. Now, they want to bring it back.

Talking about the success of the Hiawatha rail line in Minneapolis, he said it still is 20 years behind. He said the line was in dispute back in 1977 and for the following 15 years Ramsey and Hennepin County officials were disputing one another. Finally, last chance was given for federal rail funds, build the light rail system, take cars off the roadway and reduce congestion and save some money for the rest of Minnesota. He said such a plan saves money that would be three times more for an urban freeway.

On average, one mile of urban freeway costs $47 million. On average, a mile of light rail costs $26 million, said Oberstar. ìJust look at all the rail systems built across the country in the last 15 years and you will see some extraordinary success stories,î continued Oberstar. ìMinnesota can do the same,î he added.

Minnesota has not been receiving a full, equitable share of transportation funding since 1990-91, Oberstar said. Because Minnesota is not credited in the highway trust fund with gasahol purchases, they donít get that money back. A tax exemption will be replaced with a tax credit to Minnesota ethanol producers, he said. It is a big benefit to gasahol producers, he said. In Minnesota there is a 94 percent increase in funding legislation, largely due to restoration of credit in the highway trust fund. Minnesota will get a $5 billion return.

In addition to surface transportation, Oberstar said he is working to improve the areas of aviation, Amtrak, water resources and the Corps of Engineers Wastewater infrastructure. He is working on state revolving loan funds and said he recently took part in a groundbreaking in a soybean field in Chisago County near North Branch. He said no longer would soybeans be pushed up there, instead foundations for houses.

Oberstar is also working with the Water Resources Development Act in regard to harbor deepening and channel improvements and maintenance of channels in the Great Lakes. There is also a need for improvements on the Upper Mississippi locks and dams, of which, more than half are more than 50 years old. They need to be refurbished and the capacity doubled, he said.

The defining issue of the 109th Congress will be Social Security, Oberstar predicted. He believes the Social Security system ìis working fine as it is.î The Administration has not made a case for change, he said.

ìItís up to those who want to change the status quo to lay something on the table,î Oberstar said. ìTo diminish Social Security is like giving a 50-pound weight to a guy drowning 10 feet from shore and saying I want to help you,î said Oberstar.

ìIf you do nothing, the Social Security is safe for 40 years,î said Oberstar.

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