[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 7, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E29-E30]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              INTRODUCTION OF THE DEVIL'S SLIDE TUNNEL ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, January 7, 1997

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, as we in the West cope with another series 
of devastating winter storms and floods, residents along the San Mateo 
County coast are relieved to find that a section of Highway 1, known 
locally as Devil's Slide, which lies precariously on a sea cliff high 
above the roaring surf of the Pacific Ocean, is still intact. Devil's 
Slide is a breathtaking, and all too often lifetaking section of 
California's scenic coastal highway which has slowly been sinking into 
the Pacific Ocean as it is battered by waves 600 feet below. Winter 
storms in previous years have closed Highway 1 at Devil's Slide for up 
to 6 months, leaving residents and businesses dangerously isolated. 
This area is 12 miles south of San Francisco in my congressional 
district.
  Perennial closures of Devil's Slide have had a devastating effect on 
our coastal community. Residents have endured unbearable commutes, 
access to emergency medical care and other services have been 
threatened, businesses have lost thousands of customers, and some 
businesses have failed. For residents and businesses along the San 
Mateo County coast, it is absolutely essential to have Highway 1 open 
around Devil's Slide.
  Mr. Speaker, 12 years ago, in 1984, Congress closely studied the 
closure of this vital transportation link and lifeline. After heavy 
winter rains washed out the road, leaving a 250-foot-long crevice in 
the road which made the road impassible for 4 months. Then Chairman 
Glenn Anderson of the Surface Transportation Subcommittee held a series 
of field hearings in Half Moon Bay and Pacifica, CA, and committee 
members carefully surveyed the unstable roadway which was sliding 3 
inches a day into the sea. Committee members viewed 8-foot-deep cracks 
and fissures in the roadbed and determined that this vital 
transportation link was eligible for emergency Federal funds. At my 
request, the Congress provided funding for the permanent repair of 
Highway 1 at Devil's Slide.
  The California Department of Transportation [CALTRANS] made temporary 
repairs to the roadway and proposed building a controversial 4.5 mile 
long bypass around Devil's Slide. Some residents opposed the bypass on 
environmental and antidevelopment grounds and blocked bypass 
construction in Federal court for over 10 years. A false sense of 
security brought on by 10 years of drough ended in January 1995, when 
heavy rains again closed Devil's Slide for 6 months. For the second 
time in 12 years this vital transportation link

[[Page E30]]

was severed, again disrupting the lives and livelihoods of tens of 
thousands of residents and businesses.
  Mr. Speaker, after decades of debate and lawsuits, the voters of San 
Mateo County have put an end to the battle with CALTRANS over how to 
resolve the problem of Devil's Slide. Voters decided overwhelmingly in 
favor of a local referendum to approve a mile-long tunnel at Devil's 
Slide instead of a bypass which would involve extensive cutting and 
filling of Montara Mountain. The referendum amends the local coastal 
plan, substituting a tunnel as the preferred permanent repair 
alternative for Highway 1 at Devil's Slide, and prohibits any other 
alternative unless approved by the voters. Following the release of a 
Federal Highway Administration sponsored study which found that the 
tunnel is environmentally feasible and its costs would not differ 
significantly from the costs of a bypass, CALTRANS reversed it 
opposition to a tunnel at Devil's Slide.
  Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing important legislation to ensure 
that funds already appropriated and obligated for Devil's Slide will 
remain available to CALTRANS to build the tunnel at Devil's Slide. This 
legislation, entitled the ``Devil's Slide Tunnel Act,'' will provide 
greater flexibility to State transportation officials to use Federal 
funds already appropriated by Congress to fix this vital transportation 
link. Joining me as cosponsors of this legislation are bipartisan 
members of the bay area congressional delegation whose constituents are 
most affected by the Devil's Slide highway problem--my colleagues, Tom 
Campbell, of San Jose, Anna Eshoo of Atherton, and Nancy Pelosi of San 
Francisco.
  Mr. Speaker, if local and State agencies and the citizens of a region 
determine that a better transportation alternative exists than the 
alternative for which funds have been obligated, then the Federal 
Government should grant greater funding flexibility, as long as all 
other Federal laws are compiled with. It is important that we not 
permit these funds to lapse. The rebuilding of a severely damaged 
highway in its existing location may no longer be feasible, and in such 
cases funds already available to a community should continue to be 
available.
  History tell us that Devil's Slide will wash out again--it is only a 
matter of time. It is my hope that swift enactment of this legislation 
will ensure a permanent solution to the residents of the Coastside. I 
urge my colleagues to support the ``Devil's Slide Tunnel Act.''

                          ____________________