Biden: 10,000 transportation projects under way in U.S.
March 18, 2010Vice President Joe Biden announced that 10,000 transportation projects are now under way in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, thanks to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Projects are considered under way when a contractor has been hired, the project has received official notice to proceed and work has begun. This milestone comes just over a year after the Recovery Act was signed into law and as the spring construction season is getting into full swing.
The vice president made the announcement as part of a visit to North Carolina, where the 10,000th project, the Sanford Bypass, will break ground. The contractor, DHG Infrastructure, said it is hiring more than 45 employees to work on the project. The $26 million project, which was accelerated by the Recovery Act, will redirect commercial truck traffic away from the heart of the city of Sanford, relieving congestion and maintenance problems, and increasing access for businesses to relocate and expand in the area.
“The 10,000 transportation projects under way are already helping put us on the road to economic recovery, but there is even more to come,” Biden said. “This spring, Recovery Act projects will pick up the pace across the country, providing even more jobs improving America’s roads, highways and bridges.”
In one year, the Recovery Act has improved more than 33,000 miles of pavement across the United States; helped purchase nearly 12,000 buses, vans and rail vehicles; helped construct or renovate more than 850 transit facilities and provided more than $620 million in preventive maintenance, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) noted. This helped save and create jobs, and maintained and enhanced the nation’s transportation network. In addition to the 10,000 projects already under way, construction activity is expected to ramp up even further in the next few months as temperatures warm and new projects break ground.
“Every new Recovery Act project means workers back on the job, paying their rent or mortgage, putting food on the table for their families,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “These 10,000 projects are strengthening our economy and creating jobs right now, and there are more projects still to come this spring.”
During the first week of March, the DOT successfully met an aggressive deadline to “obligate” – or commit funds to specific projects – 100 percent of their Recovery Act highway and transit formula dollars. That important milestone means that for every Recovery Act project, contracts can be bid, workers can be hired and construction can begin on projects that create jobs and drive economic growth.
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