WASHINGTON -- The Senate has approved a funding bill with $4.0 million for a proposed integrated transportation project for Albuquerque, New Mexico Senator Pete Domenici today announced.

The $4.0 million is included in the 1997 Transportation Appropriations Bill, which was passed, 95-2, by the Senate tonight. Domenici, who voted for the bill, will be a member of the conference committee that will reconcile differences between the bills passed by the Senate and House of Representatives.

The $4.0 million appropriation will fund Albuquerque's Urban/Rural Intelligent Corridor Application (URICA), which is a collaborative project between the city, Sandia National Laboratories, the Alliance for Transportation Research, and the University of New Mexico. The city is expected to match this appropriation with $1 million.

"The goal of the project is to develop a more efficient transportation system for Albuquerque by integrating rural transportation with urban transportation, providing emergency detection and response services, and expanding the evaluation of congestion information in the Albuquerque metropolitan area," Domenici said.

Phase I of the URICA project, which included the REMARC Demonstration and SOLAR system, has been completed and helped define a basis for continued development of local, state and national transportation systems in the area.

The bill also has, at Domenici's request, $2.5 million for the Aging Aircraft Nondestructive Inspection Validation Center (AANC) in Albuquerque.

"This center brings together some of our best resources in New Mexico to focus on evaluating the safety of aircraft," Domenici said. "As we become more focused on the safety of our airlines, I believe the techology developed here will be greatly valued."

Domenici said these appropriations are provided within the spending limits established in the six-year balanced budget resolution that has passed by the Congress.

The bill contains, among other national projects, the following funding and directives for work in New Mexico:

Aging Aircraft Nondestructive Validation Center: $2.5 million for this aging aircraft activity of the Federal Aviation Administration. The amount is equal to the President's request for the program and its base funding amount. New Mexico's Aging Aircraft Nondestructive Inspection Validation Center is a consortium of New Mexico organizations working to implement a technology development program to help ensure the safety of the country's aging commercial aviation fleet.

The report includes language, at Domenici's request, commending an FAA proposal for establishing a center of excellence to support continued airworthiness assurance. This center will bring together universities and a national laboratory to focus on problems in aircraft inspection, aircraft structural repair, and crashworthiness. It will provide a mechanism for industry financial support of projects mutually beneficial to the FAA and the aircraft industry.

Albuquerque Urban/Rural Intelligent Corridor Application (URICA): $4 million through the Federal Transit Administration's bus program funds Phase II of Albuquerque's URICA, which is a collaborative effort with Sandia National Laboratories, the Alliance for Transportation Research and the University of New Mexico. The goal of the program is to integrate Albuquerque with a fixed bus service, integrate rural detection and response services, and expand the analysis and display of congestion information in the Albuquerque metropolitan area.

Essential Air Service: $23.7 million is approved for payments to air carriers providing essential air service to communities, which is $1.1 million above the 1996 level. New Mexico would continue to be served at its existing points in Alamogordo/Holloman Air Force Base, Clovis, and Silver City/Hurley/Deming.

Federal-aid Highway Program: $17.65 billion for this program, an increase of $100 million above the 1996 funding level. New Mexico would receive an estimated $170 million in highway funding in 1997.

Amtrak: $592 million for Amtrak, which includes $200 million for operations, and $250 million for capital equipment. Two Amtrak trains, the Sunset Limited and the Southwest Limited, provide service to New Mexico.

Federal Aviation Administration: $8.2 billion is approved for the FAA, including $4.9 billion for operations, $1.8 billion for facilities and Equipment, and $187 million for Research, Engineering, and Development. An obligation of limitation of $1.46 billion is placed on the Airport Improvement Program.

Federal Transit Administration: $4.4 billion for the programs of the Federal Transit Administration. Within this amount, $2.1 billion is for formula grants, including $400 million for operating assistance. It is $100 million above the 1996 level. A limitation of $1.8 billion is placed on transit discretionary grants.

State Infrastructure Banks: $250 million to establish new State Infrastructure Banks to help finance transportation infrastructure projects. The Administration proposed this concept under which both federal and non-federal funding will capitalize these banks. This is a voluntary program.

TRANSIMS Project: $2 million is approved to assist states and metropolitan planning organizations in meeting the analytical requirements of the ISTEA and the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.

Commercial Space Transportation: $6.05 million is approved for the Commercial Space Transportation Office. This office assists licensing New Mexico's Spaceport initiative.