AASHTO Executive hails approval of 6,000th highway project.
Press Release Summary:
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood declared a major milestone that 6,000 highway construction projects, at $17.3 billion, have been approved under American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. AASHTO Executive Director John Horsley said it is milestone that cannot be ignored as nation tries to overcome worst economic downturn since Great Depression. After 6 months since President Obama signed ARRA into law, state DOTs have obligated 65% of $27 billion targeted for highways and bridges.
Original Press Release:
6,000 Economic Recovery Projects and Counting
A statement by AASHTO Executive Director John Horsley
(Washington, DC) - This week, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood called it a "major milestone" when the 6,000th highway construction project was approved under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The price tag: $17.3 billion, which will soon be flowing into the nation's economy to support hundreds of thousands jobs and businesses both large and small.
Even before the recovery act was signed into law, state departments of transportation began the advance work necessary to gain speedy federal approval to obligate ARRA funds. And in the six months since President Obama signed ARRA into law, state departments of transportation have obligated 65% of the $27 billion targeted for highways and bridges.
Obligation is the first step required by law that allows states to initiate the bidding process. After advertising the projects to contractors, states then select the winning bid and award the contract. Bids have come in from between 5% to 30% lower than anticipated on many of the 2,500 projects now under construction in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
"As the nation endeavors to overcome the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, milestones like these cannot be ignored," said John Horsley, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials." We've gone from "shovel ready" projects to "shovels in the dirt" and from "yes we can" to "yes we are," Horsley said.
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is the "Voice of Transportation" representing State Departments of Transportation in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. AASHTO is a nonprofit, nonpartisan association serving as a catalyst for excellence in transportation.
