255 Highway Improvement Projects Underway or Completed in Florida Thanks to Stimulus Law

News provided by

American Road & Transportation Builders Association

Mar 08, 2010, 04:21 ET

WASHINGTON, March 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- There are currently 255 American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA)-financed highway construction projects underway or completed in Florida involving $768.8 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 21,391 jobs in Florida 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 $1.35 billion to Florida for highway, bridge and related improvements. This one-time bonus added more than 80 percent to Florida'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 $3.04 billion.

According to Buechner, a Harvard-trained economist, another 292 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

Florida congressional district.

    
    
    
    
     Congressional District     Number of projects    Amount Obligated
     ----------------------     ------------------    ----------------
                1                              19          $17,275,533
                2                              36          $25,148,363
                3                               6           $7,602,215
                4                              16         $152,511,531
                5                              44          $70,524,544
                6                              21          $15,664,906
                7                              24          $11,857,833
                8                              18          $38,698,025
             9-11                               5         $107,662,869
               12                               2             $667,960
               13                              26          $31,489,301
               14                              15          $81,027,316
               15                              28          $34,556,298
               16                              22          $87,851,653
               17                              27          $26,355,207
               18                              47          $32,255,523
               19                               2           $7,359,765
               20                               9           $2,345,154
               21                              22           $9,970,490
               22                               7          $46,576,623
               23                               6          $22,756,142
               24                              10           $6,688,771
               25                              34          $12,046,480
    Multidistrict/Statewide                   100         $420,221,923

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