Goodlatte’s seniority brings funds for flood reduction and Greenway extension
Congressman Bob Goodlatte and the House of Representatives passed legislation that earmarks over $1 million for the flood control project on the Roanoke River.
In a press release, Goodlatte described the additional funds in the Energy and Water Appropriations Act (FY 2010) as “another huge victory for Roanoke.”
In all, Congress has appropriated nearly $35 million for the crucial flood control project.
Goodlatte has been working on flood reduction for the bulk of his legislative career. According to Kathryn Rexrode–communications director and legislative assistant for Rep. Goodlatte–the Congressman “first began working with community leaders on this issue in the late 1970s when he was serving as Congressman Caldwell Butler’s district director.”
The City of Roanoke and the Army Corp of Engineers have worked in conjunction with Goodlatte’s office to ensure that the project has been fully funded. Rexrode contends that her boss “closely follows [flood related legislation] through the appropriations process each year.”
Fans of the Roanoke River Greenway system may have Mr. Goodlatte to thank (in part) for an extension of the original length proposed for the Greenway along the Roanoke River. Rexrode told me that the Congressman “secured the appropriation to ensure that the Greenway stretched along the entire length of the Roanoke River [through the City and a portion of the County]. The original plan was for the Greenway to only go half way through the city of Roanoke.”
Part of the flood control funds have been used to remediate the banks of the Roanoke River near the new public greenspace on the spot of the old Hannah Court trailer park.
Bend in the Roanoke River between Wasena and Memorial Bridge