States deliver economic recovery projects nationwide.
Press Release Summary:
Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation, Allen D. Biehler, told House transportation committee that competition for stimulus projects is helping drive down bids for work, offering added benefit from American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. According to survey by AASHTO, some states are reporting project bids coming in 5-27% below estimates. Biehler testified that lower bids will help states whittle away at backlog of projects which far exceeds available recovery dollars.
Original Press Release:
States Deliver Economic Recovery Projects Nationwide
Low Bids Mean More Projects and Jobs Possible
Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation Allen D. Biehler told a House transportation
committee this week that competition for stimulus projects is helping drive down bids for the work, offering an added benefit from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
"With the unemployment rate for construction workers higher than 21 percent, companies are struggling to survive and are competing fiercely for recovery projects," Secretary Biehler said. "The result should be that states will be able to stretch these investments even further than expected and will deliver more projects and the associated jobs generated by the added investment."
A survey by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
(AASHTO) found that some states are reporting project bids coming in from between 5 and 27 percent below estimates. Wednesday, at the first oversight hearing on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act effort, conducted by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Biehler testified that the lower bids will help states whittle away at the backlog of projects which "far exceeds the available recovery dollars."
Biehler, who also serves as AASHTO's President, described examples of the wide range of
recovery projects being approved, from Interstate reconstruction in Oklahoma to critical bridge repairs and replacements in his home state of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Biehler's testimony, a summary report Delivering on the Promise, the AASHTO state bid survey, and a comprehensive AASHTO video presentation about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act effort are available at www.transportation.org.
