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In downtown Portland, Tri-Met's busily whacking down half-century-old sycamore trees to make way for their new light-rail line to Milwaukie, and dumping cement into the Willamette River to build a new bridge for light rail and streetcar lines.
They're also getting set to remove some $8,000 of new signs which tout their status as “#1 Transit” because...um...well...they're wrong. OOps.
And now another little problem has come to light: Buy America is a provision in U.S. law to “ensure that transportation infrastructure projects are built with American-made products.”
And John Porcari, the Department of Transportation deputy secretary, says he’s the man who signs the waivers allowing companies to buy materials outside the U.S.
As it turns out, there are no American companies that produce girder rail - which is what light rail and streetcar trains roll on. Every square inch of it comes from overseas. That's some serious green.
