Villaraigosa: Metro Line Extention Will Create Thousands of Jobs [UPDATED]

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa issued a statement Tuesday to thank the President and Secretary LaHood of the U.S. Transportation Department for their plan to expedite the review process for construction projects.

The White House is seeking to decrease the amount of time it takes to conceive and implement projects in order to stimulate job creation.

"Today's announcement by the Obama Administration is a major step forward in putting people back to work and creating a 21st century transit system in Los Angeles," said Villaraigosa.

According to Villaraigosa, streamlining the process for the construction of the Crenshaw/LAX light rail line will create more than 15,000 jobs in the city.

The measure to extend the Green Line to LAX is one of 14 infrastructure projects chosen nationwide.

Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum in August which called for the expedition of environmental reviews and permit decisions. While not all of the review processes are controlled by the federal government, the Obama Administration is committed to making the permitting process as effective as possible.

As part of the administration's dedication to transparency and efficiency, the public will even be able to track the progress of all projects online.

The 14 projects selected represent varying sectors of the economy and will create tens of thousands of jobs.

Aside from the extension of Los Angeles' Green Line to LAX, another one of the selected projects is the construction of the Deerfield Wind Power Project in Vermont, which will be a wind generation facility to create energy. Another selected project is the Provo Westside Connector in Utah will connect the Provo Airport to Interstate 15 and will improve roadway interconnectedness.