[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 152 (Wednesday, September 24, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1880]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    IN CELEBRATION OF THE COMPLETION OF THE BRIDGES AT DEVIL'S SLIDE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JACKIE SPEIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 23, 2008

  Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, this week marks a milestone in a half 
century long journey to provide safe and scenic passage along the 
beautiful San Mateo County coastline and honors the tireless dedication 
of my predecessor in Congress, Representative Tom Lantos.
  On Friday, September 26, 2008, the California Department of 
Transportation (Caltrans), along with project contractors, citizens and 
elected officials, will officially unveil two newly-constructed bridges 
at Devil's Slide on State Route One.
  These bridges are part of a larger project which will connect them to 
twin four thousand, two hundred foot tunnels. Together, the bridges and 
tunnels will bypass a historically-dangerous stretch of Route One that 
over the past twenty-five years has seen three closures and 
reconstructions due to erosion of the cliff upon which the road sits.
  The existing roadway between the cities of Pacifica and Half Moon Bay 
was first opened in 1935. By 1958, local citizens were clamoring for a 
safer road, but environmental, financial, geological and land-use 
issues complicated the process until 1996, when San Mateo County voters 
passed Measure T by 76 percent, authorizing the bridge and tunnel 
construction. The project, though, would have been impossible were it 
not for the passionate work here in the House of Representatives by the 
late Congressman Lantos, who was present last year as crews broke 
ground for the tunnels' construction.
  In honor of his invaluable efforts, the California State Legislature 
passed a resolution in July 2008 to name the tunnels the ``Tom Lantos 
Tunnels at Devil's Slide.''
  Since breaking ground, significant progress has been made on this 
ambitious and environmentally sensitive project. Along with the 
completion of the two bridges, crews have excavated a combined two 
thousand six hundred feet in the northbound and southbound bores of the 
tunnels. With specialized equipment, leading edge technology and 
carefully designed and engineered plans, crews work twenty-four hours a 
day on the tunnels which will eventually connect with the newly-
constructed bridges. The resulting road of just over a mile will 
realign Route One into a safer, more reliable passage around Devil's 
Slide.
  Madam Speaker, Tom Lantos' legacy in this chamber is well-known. With 
the opening of this important north-south roadway along one of the most 
beautiful stretches of coastline in this or any country, his work will 
be memorialized for residents of our district and passing motorists for 
generations to come.

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