Berkley Secures $635,000 For Spaghetti Bowl
Improvements
Funding Will Enhance
Interchange Linking I-15 & US 95/93
Congresswoman
Shelley Berkley announced that she has secured nearly $635,000 in funding for
work on the “Spaghetti Bowl” interchange in downtown Las Vegas.
“The Spaghetti Bowl is one of
the Valley’s busiest interchanges and these improvements will enhance safety and
help keep traffic flowing smoothly,” said Berkley, who secured the resources for
the highway project as part of last year’s transportation funding bill.
“With today’s record gas
prices, traffic delays cost drivers more than ever before and that is why we
need to continue investing in improvements to southern Nevada’s transportation
infrastructure, including our roads and highways,” Berkley said.
The project is part of an
on-going effort by Berkley to fund improvements along I-15 between Las Vegas and
Apex. Plans call for directional ramps at the I-215/I-15 Interchanges,
additional interchanges between Speedway and Apex, the D-F Street connector and
reconfiguration of the Lake Mead Interchange. The Project will consist of three
construction phases. The first phase of construction will expand the freeway to
ten lanes from the Spaghetti Bowl to the Lake Mead Interchange and to eight
lanes from the Lake Mead Interchange to the Craig Road Interchange.
Berkley Votes to Extend Jobless Benefits
as
GOP Blocks Package to Aid
Unemployed
13 Weeks Additional
Unemployment Assistance; No Cost to NV
Congresswoman Shelley Berkley
voted to extend unemployment benefits an additional 13 weeks for qualified
Nevadans who are out of work. The bill, which required a two-thirds majority to
pass, failed to win approval on a vote of 279-144.
“Nevada is in the grip of an
economic slowdown that is being felt across the U.S. and as a result, we are
seeing higher unemployment rates,” said Berkley. “That is why we need to pass
this federally funded extension which will provide 13 additional weeks of
compensation for qualified individuals who are still in search of employment.
Once in place, our package will help thousands of Nevadans cover their living
expenses until they can return to work,” said Berkley. “Unfortunately, Nevada’s
unemployment rate is now higher than the national average, and more families in
Las Vegas need this helping hand to pay the rent and keep food on the table.”
As a member of the powerful
House Ways and Means Committee, Berkley worked to craft The Emergency
Extended Unemployment Compensation Act (H.R. 5749) and is a cosponsor of the
legislation.
“I have great faith that Las
Vegas will weather this storm, but right now, more of our friends and neighbors
are in need of this assistance than ever before. That is the reason we must
come together to pass this critical extension and to get these benefits to
southern Nevadans who are out of work and in need of this help,” said Berkley.
The package is entirely
funded through federal resources and does not require any state funding.
“Because this is a federally
funded extension of unemployment benefits, there will be no cost to Nevada state
government. This especially important given our record state budget shortfalls
and the painful cuts in important services that are being proposed as a result,”
said Berkley.
Without this legislation, a
projected 3 to 3.5 million Americans will exhaust their unemployment benefits
without finding work.
