In September, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to restore funding for the national Transportation Enhancements program, the Federal government's most popular federal-aid highway program and the largest single source of direct funding for historic preservation. New Hampshire's Congressmen John Sununu and Charlie Bass joined the majority in voting for the funding.

"The Transportation Enhancements program has been enormously valuable in mitigating the damage that transportation projects can do to historic places," said Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. "Congress reaffirmed the wisdom of setting aside a fraction of federal-aid highway funds for projects that preserve our nation's past and support Main Street revitalization. The National Trust and the preservation community will build on this victory to make sure that important laws like Section 4(f) continue to protect America's cultural and historic places."

In the 11 years since Congress enacted the law, the program has provided $6 billion to 16,699 community-based projects that then funded $2.2 billion in historic preservation-related activities. New Hampshire projects include railroad station revitalization and bridge restoration.