Leaders of the Southeastern Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (SASHTO) held a news conference today to showcase the progress being made to create and sustain jobs using American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds.
Larry L. "Butch" Brown, executive director of the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) and SASHTO President, said "The proof is in the numbers. As of July, Mississippi DOT has spent nearly $2 million dollars on payroll. That money is going straight into the pockets of hundreds of construction workers so they can make mortgage payments, buy groceries, and pay for back to school supplies and clothing."
All 50 state departments of transportation and the District of Columbia met a June 30th deadline to assign 50 percent of their ARRA funds to a specific highway projects. SASHTO's 12 member states are slated to receive over $7 billion in ARRA funding for highways and bridges.
Arkansas' share is $351 million. As of this week, Arkansas state officials say $162 million has been awarded to 69 projects, of which more than a third are already completed. "We're putting people to work in every corner of our state," said Dan Flowers, executive director of Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. "The majority of our projects are being built in 'economically depressed areas' which benefits those looking for work."
Paul A. Mattox, Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Transportation said, "between April and July of this year, my department had 81 projects worth $148 million under contract." Mattox agreed that one sure way to measure ARRA's success is to look at payroll figures. "Contractors in West Virginia have spent $1.4 million dollars in payroll between April and July of this year and I know those dollars are making a world of difference to people in our state."
The state DOT leaders agreed that the successful implementation of economic stimulus money should be reassuring to the America people. "States are delivering projects on time and many cases under budget," said John Horsley, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). "Now it's up to Congress to keep the momentum going by passing a new six-year highway and transit authorization bill."
Stimulus Projects – Putting Money Directly Into the Economy
Examples of payroll expended on stimulus projects:
As of August 28, according to the Federal Highway Administration:
- 3,351 transportation projects under construction today across America
- $9.74 billion under contract
- 7,701 projects are authorized for bidding (projects include FHWA, FAA, FTA, FRA), valued at $25 billion
- 6,902 highways projects are authorized, valued at $18 billion of the $26.8 billion for highway projects
For more information go to Recovery.gov or www.fhwa.dot.gov.
