Virginia & Truckee Reconstruction Project Analysis: $500K not from Vegas-Anaheim, package, instead from

No. 15 -- VIRGINIA AND TRUCKEE RAILWAY -- Nevada Railroad Reconstruction Chronicles

The $500,000 that Senator Reid was "nice enough" to send the V&T project didn't come from the Vegas to Anaheim high speed rail funding as a commenter had reported. Thanks to some digging by an associate, it turns out this $500,000 came from S. 3261 of 2008.

One of my other chief complaints about federal funding is that you have to be a detective to figure it out. Despite Obama's claims of transparency, thing have not gotten better. Admittedly this $500,000 done while Bush was still in, but it was done by a committee and Harry Reid in the Democratically controlled Congress.

If you search for V&T in this document you will see a little insight into how the federal funding mechanism works. When you look at that doc and do the V&T search, notice that a poorly managed tourist railroad project sits among a list of seemingly worth projects. Heck, I'll save you the search, here is the sub-category that the Virginia and Truckee Gravy Train was funded under:

(sorry about the formatting, the recommended dollar amounts are likely on the right side of your screen in the green area. I will work on this formatting...)

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Project name                                                                                      Committeerecommendation

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146th Street Corridor Extension, Boone County, IN                                                                $500,000

159th and US 69 Interchange Improvements, Overland Park, KS                                                     1,000,000

2300 West Upgrade, 1900 South to 2100 North, UT                                                                 1,000,000

5th and Market Street Transportation Improvements, PA                                                             500,000

Advanced Bridge Safety Initiative, ME                                                                             500,000

Anchor Lake Project, MS                                                                                         1,000,000

Ann Arbor-Detroit Regional Rail Project, MI                                                                     1,000,000

Artesia Road Bypass, MS                                                                                         1,000,000

Barnes Crossing Road/Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge, MS                                                             500,000

Bayside Promenade, ME                                                                                             800,000

Bland Street Improvements, Bland, MO                                                                              300,000

Bonneville/Clark One-Way Couplet, NV                                                                              500,000

Bossier Parish Congestion Relief Plan, LA                                                                       1,000,000

Bridge over Brandywine Creek, PA                                                                                  750,000

Campus Loop Road Extension for St. John Fisher College, NY                                                        500,000

Cesar Chavez Blvd/Calexico-West Port of Entry Congestion Improvements, CA                                       3,000,000

City of Tuscaloosa Downtown Revitalization Project--University Blvd and Greensboro Avenue, AL                   4,000,000

Cline Avenue Extension, East Chicago, IN                                                                        1,000,000

Clinton Street Bridge Replacement, Fort Wayne, IN                                                                 500,000

Coalfields Expressway, WV                                                                                       5,000,000

Construction of Lafayette Interchange, MO                                                                       1,000,000

Cumberland Parkway/US 41 Expansion, GA                                                                          1,000,000

Decatur Downtown Streetscape Project, AL                                                                          350,000

Delaware Avenue Bridge, IA                                                                                        500,000

East Texas Higher Speed Rail Feasibility Study, TX                                                                300,000

Edward T. Breathitt (Pennyrile) Parkway Completion Project, KY                                                  2,000,000

El Camino East/West Corridor, Winfield, LA                                                                        500,000

Establishment of Railroad Quiet Zones in the Town of Hamburg, NY                                                  500,000

FM509 Extension, Harlingen, TX                                                                                    500,000

Fort Drum Connector (I-81 to Fort Drum North Gate), NY                                                          1,000,000

Freedom Road Transportation Improvement Project, PA                                                             1,750,000

Gate and Intersection Improvements at Fort Lee, VA                                                              1,000,000

Granite Falls Alternate Route, WA                                                                               2,500,000

Great Miami Boulevard Extension, OH                                                                               500,000

Harden Street Improvements--Phase II, SC                                                                        1,000,000

Hastings Bridge, MN                                                                                             2,000,000

Highway 100 Extension from Edgewood Road to Highway 30, Cedar Rapids, IA                                        1,000,000

Highway 14-Waseca to Owatonna, MN                                                                               2,000,000

Highway 75 Revitalization Project, AL                                                                             250,000

Highway 9 Improvements, MS                                                                                      3,000,000

Hudson River Waterfront Walkway, NJ                                                                               500,000

I-10 New Orleans East Upgrades, LA                                                                                200,000

I-12 Interchange at LA-16, Denham Springs, LA                                                                     750,000

I-295/76/42 Direct Connection, NJ                                                                               3,000,000

I-49 South, LA                                                                                                  2,000,000

I-5 to Hwy. 99W Connector, OR                                                                                   3,000,000

I-540 Interchange Improvements, Washington and Benton Counties, AR                                              2,000,000

I-555 Access Road, Poinsett County, AR                                                                          2,000,000

I-69, Shreveport, LA                                                                                            2,000,000

I-69, TN                                                                                                          500,000

I-69, TX                                                                                                          500,000

I-93 Kalispell Bypass, MT                                                                                       3,000,000

I-95 Interchange at SR 202 (Butler Blvd.), FL                                                                   1,000,000

Improvements to the Route 60 Bridges over the James River, MO                                                   1,000,000

Improvements to US Route 1 for access to York County Community College, ME                                        500,000

Improvements to US-54, Seward County, KS                                                                        1,000,000

Indian Ri���_4DuY� Intersection Improvements on US 212 and US 81 and Improvements to US 81, SD                                     1,000,000 
 Intersection Safety Improvements, Olympia Fields, IL                                                              500,000 
 Interstate 430/630: Interchange Modification, AR                                                                3,000,000 
 Interstate 69/Great River Bridge: Highway 65-MS Highway 1, AR                                                   3,000,000 
 Isabel Swamp Road, Washington Parish, LA                                                                          450,000 
 Joplin Downtown Revitalization, MO                                                                              1,000,000 
 K-7 Corridor Study from 183rd St to 119th Street in Olathe, KS                                                    750,000 
 King Coal Highway, WV                                                                                           5,000,000 
 LA-1 Goldenmeadow to Port Fourchon, LA                                                                            650,000 
 LA 28, Vernon Parish, LA                                                                                        2,000,000 
 Lake Charles Riverfront Parkway Development Plan, LA                                                              250,000 
 Lake Mead Parkway, Phase 2, NV                                                                                    250,000 
 Little Bay Bridges/Spaulding Turnpike, NH                                                                       2,000,000 
 Longfellow Bridge Approach Gateway, Cambridge, MA                                                               1,000,000 
 Martha/I-76 Connection, OH                                                                                        500,000 
 McKinley/Riverside Avenues Safety Improvement Project, Muncie, IN                                               1,000,000 
 Melbourne International Access Road, FL                                                                         1,000,000 
 Milwaukee Intermodal Station Improvements to Train Shed and Platforms, WI                                       1,500,000 
 N.A. Sandifer Highway, MS                                                                                         315,000 
 New Hampshire Department of Transportation, U.S. Route 4 Red List Bridge Repair, West Lebanon, NH               1,000,000 
 New York State Route 12                                                                                           500,000 
 Niagara Falls International Railway Station/Intermodal Transportation Center, NY                                  500,000 
 Northside Drive, MS                                                                                             2,000,000 
 Northwest Loop Access Road, Sandoval County, NM                                                                 1,000,000 
 Page Extension Phase II, MO                                                                                     1,000,000 
 Park Avenue Multi-Use Trail, ME                                                                                   800,000 
 Pennsylvania High-Speed Maglev Development Program, PA                                                          1,000,000 
 Peters Road Extension, Plaquemines Parish, LA                                                                     650,000 
 Pinon Hills Boulevard East and Animas River Bridge, NM                                                          1,000,000 
 Plaza del Sol Project, Village of Angel Fire, NM                                                                  350,000 
 Port Industrial Road Improvement Project, WA                                                                    4,000,000 
 Portsmouth Town Center Plan, RI                                                                                 1,000,000 
 Reconstruction of Riverside Drive, CT                                                                           1,000,000 
 Redesign and Reconstruction of I-235 and Kellogg Interchange, Wichita, KS                                         500,000 
 Replacement of US-159 Bridge at Rulo, NE                                                                        1,200,000 
 ReTrac Project Enhancements, Reno, NV                                                                             250,000 
 Rickenbacker Intermodal East-West Connector, OH                                                                   300,000 
 Road improvements on Powderhouse Road from SD 42 to Madison Street, Sioux Falls, SD                             3,000,000 
 Route 1/Route 123 Interchange Improvements, VA                                                                  1,000,000 
 Route 1 and Route 34 Connector, CT                                                                                500,000 
 Route 150, MO                                                                                                   1,000,000 
 Route 5 Improvements in Laclede and Camden Counties, MO                                                         1,000,000 
 Salt Fork of the Red River Bridge Martha Crossing, OK                                                           1,500,000 
 SE Connector, SE 6th Street to SE 14th Street (US 69), Des Moines, IA                                           1,500,000 
 Shiloh Road, MT                                                                                                 5,000,000 
 Slide Repair Work along US 60 in Eastern Kanawha County, WV                                                     5,000,000 
 South Entrance Interchange at Mississippi State University, MS                                                  1,000,000 
 Southwest Arterial, Dubuque, IA                                                                                 1,000,000 
 St. John Medical Center--Broken Arrow Traffic Improvement, OK                                                     250,000 
 Starkweather Creek Parkway Bike Path, WI                                                                        1,000,000 
 State Route 317, between I-75 and Collegedale in Hamilton County, TN                                            1,000,000 
 Steptoe Street Extension Project, WA                                                                            2,000,000 
 TH 610 from US 169 to I-94, Maple Grove, MN                                                                     1,000,000 
 TH-13/CR 5 Interchange, MN                                                                                      1,000,000 
 Town of Clarkstown, New City Hamlet, NY to Revitalize South Main Street                                           500,000 
 Town of Lexington United Traffic Plan--Phase I, SC                                                              1,000,000 
 Town of Tamworth, Chocorua Village Safety Project, NH                                                             500,000 
 Traffic Light--Piedmont Road and Edmond Road, OK                                                                  100,000 
 Trinity River Vision Bridges, Fort Worth, TX                                                                    1,000,000 
 US 101 Safety Improvements at Deer Park, WA                                                                       980,000 
 US 12 Safety Improvements, WA                                                                                   3,000,000 
 US 17 Widening, FL                                                                                              2,000,000 
 US 2 Safety Improvements, WA                                                                                    2,000,000 
 US Highway 30 Improvements, Whiteside County, IL                                                                  500,000 
 US 61 Fort Madison Bypass Interchange at Highway J40, IA                                                        1,000,000 
 US Highway 59 Safety Improvements, MN                                                                           1,000,000 
 Urban Collector Road along I-10 North, MS                                                                       2,000,000 
 US 169 Highway Widening Environmental Assessment, OK                                                            1,000,000 
 US Route 64, TN                                                                                                 1,500,000 
 US-191, Moab to Crescent Junction, UT                                                                           2,000,000 
 US-69 in Bourbon, Crawford, and Cherokee Counties, KS                                                             750,000 
 V&T Railway Reconstruction Project, NV                                                                            500,000 
 Vermont Route 15 Improvements in Johnson and Essex Junction, VT                                                 3,000,000 
 West Point Defense Facility Access Improvements, MS                                                             1,000,000 
 West Virginia Route 10, WV                                                                                      5,000,000 
 West Virginia Route 9, WV                                                                                       7,000,000 
 Western Beltway Transportation Infrastructure Plan, MS                                                            500,000 
 Western Kentucky University [WKU], University-Community Bikeway Project, KY                                     1,000,000 
 Whiterock Sustainable Trail, Guthrie County, IA                                                                   400,000 
 Zanesville State Street Bridge Renovation and Repair Project, OH                                                  500,000 
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