126 Highway Improvement Projects Underway or Completed in Rhode Island Thanks to Stimulus Law

News provided by

American Road & Transportation Builders Association

Mar 08, 2010, 04:59 ET

WASHINGTON, March 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- There are currently 52 American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA)-financed highway construction projects underway or completed in Rhode Island involving $121.2 million in funds, according to data released today by the Washington, D.C.-based American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). The projects underway or completed have supported or are supporting 3,373 jobs in Rhode Island that would otherwise not exist, says ARTBA Vice President of Economics & Research Dr. Bill Buechner.

ARRA, signed into law on February 17, 2009, provided $48 billion for transportation improvements over two years, including $27.5 billion for highway, bridge and related construction projects nationwide. The law is having significant impacts on the transportation construction industry in all 50 states.

ARRA provided $137.4 million to Rhode Island for highway, bridge and related improvements. This one-time bonus added more than 84 percent to Rhode Island's regular federal highway funds under the current federal surface transportation law -- Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) -- bringing the state's total federal highway funding in 2009 to a record $301.3 million.

According to Buechner, a Harvard-trained economist, another 52 projects have been identified and are slated to be under construction shortly.

The following shows the number of ARRA-financed highway projects and amount obligated in each Rhode Island congressional district.


Congressional District	Number of projects	Amount Obligated
1	16	$51,615,338
2	22	$52,979,371
Multidistrict/Statewide	21	$26,829,850

A full report can be obtained by contacting ARTBA's Jeff Solsby at [email protected] or 202-289-4434.

For 108 years, ARTBA has represented the U.S. transportation design and construction industry before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, news media and general public.

SOURCE American Road & Transportation Builders Association