Jefferson Lab gets stimulus money

NEWPORT NEWS -- The Jefferson Lab in Newport News is getting $75 million in federal stimulus funding for improvements to the nuclear research facility.

U.S. Sens. Jim Webb and Mark R. Warner, both Virginia Democrats, say the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility will use part of the money to accelerate construction of the 12-billion Electron Volt upgrade project.

The project will create about 150 local jobs. It also will provide an international community of physicists with a cutting-edge facility for studying particles of matter.

The remaining stimulus funds from the Department of Energy will be used for infrastructure improvements at the facility.

Webb also secured $28.8 million this month for upgrades to double the energy of the lab's electron beam.