171 Highway Improvement Projects Underway or Completed in Washington Thanks to Stimulus Law

News provided by

American Road & Transportation Builders Association

Mar 08, 2010, 05:29 ET

WASHINGTON, March 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- There are currently 171 American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA)-financed highway construction projects underway or completed in Washington involving $427.6 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 11,899 jobs in Washington 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 $493 million to Washington for highway, bridge and related improvements. This one-time bonus added more than 88 percent to Washington'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 $1.05 billion.

According to Buechner, a Harvard-trained economist, another 38 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 Washington congressional district.


Congressional District	Number of projects	Amount Obligated
1	12	$38,045,458
2	28	$29,346,727
3	39	$64,253,446
4	43	$115,112,972
5	41	$42,543,384
6	17	$32,805,079
7	4	$20,125,021
8	7	$77,495,999
9	6	$53,004,396
Multidistrict/Statewide	12	$15,008,267

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