Villaraigosa Pushes '30/10' Transportation Plan In DC

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is among several officials to meet with President Barack Obama Monday at the White House.

The mayor, who has been to the capital three times in just four weeks, has been seeking congressional support for a plan to accelerate the construction of 12 major transit projects in Los Angeles County.

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His 30/10 initiative calls for finishing the projects -- including a portion of the "Subway to the Sea" -- in 10 years instead of 30 as initially planned.

He estimates it would cost $18.5 billion to build the projects over 30 years. However, accelerating construction to 10 years would reduce the cost to $14 billion, Villaraigosa said.

Los Angeles County voters agreed in 2008 to pay for the transportation projects with a half-cent sales tax increase. Villaraigosa wants the federal government and other entities to help finance the construction.

Villaraigosa was in Washington on Sept. 23-24 for a meeting of the leadership of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and on Sept. 28-29 to promote the 30/10 initiative.

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, Delaware Gov. Jack Markell, and the mayors of Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Charleston, S.C., and Columbus, Ohio also attend Tuesday's meeting, along with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and two of his predecessors, Norman Mineta and Samuel Skinner.

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