Over $20 Billion in Highway Jobs Underway

Remember those "shovel-ready" construction projects so badly needed to create new jobs? Well, $20 billion worth of shovel-ready highway, road and bridge work is now underway, according to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

The projects represent the expenditure of 75 percent of the $26.6 billion made available for federal highway and bridge projects under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Of nearly 8,500 approved federal highway and bridge projects, about 5,000 are now underway.

Not even impending winter weather will stop the construction, according to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "Even though winter is right around the corner, highway and bridge projects are still getting underway, creating thousands of jobs and saving thousands more," said Secretary LaHood in a press release. "The Recovery Act is helping repair America's roads and bridges while putting people back to work."

Some of the major projects now underway include:

• Replacement of the I-25/Alameda bridge in Denver, CO -- $36 million in ARRA funds.

• The I-279/Fort Duquesne Bridge preservation project in Pittsburgh, PA, designed to improve the safety of the bridge that serves an estimated 81,000 drivers each day -- $26.2 million in ARRA funds.

• Addition of lanes on I-215 in San Bernardino, CA, to reduce traffic congestion that had been crippling the local economy -- $128 million in ARRA funds.

• Construction of an 8.5-mile, four-lane highway in Nelsonville, OH, to divert interstate traffic from local streets -- $138 million in ARRA funds.

"By addressing many long-overdue repairs to America's roads and bridges," said Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez, "projects like these are improving the economy and local quality of life while strengthening the nation's infrastructure."

Also See:
Recovery Act Funds Expand Stem Cell Research
How the ARRA Could Help You

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