Where Are the ‘Recovery Summer’ Stimulus Projects? (The New Republic)
Washington Post reported on a recent White House analysis of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. That assessment found “strikingly few claims of fraud or abuse,” according to the article. Well, good!
We’ve complained before that ARRA’s welcome emphasis on transparency tilts too much toward curbing this […]
NCDOT: Stimulus-funded construction payroll jumps 131% (Triangle Business Journal)
Transportation payroll funded by federal stimulus funds more than doubled in March, according to data compiled by the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
A total of $3.7 million in federal stimulus money was paid out to 4,740 workers in March. Those workers clocked 215,914 hours.
The payroll jumped […]
Transportation Secretary LaHood Tells Mayors More Federal Support Coming (US Conf of Mayors)
U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the mayors during the January 21 Plenary of The U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting that last year, he traveled to 66 cities and saw “some amazing projects that are transforming sprawling, struggling 20th century […]
$520M puts fast trains on fast track (News and Observer)
North Carolina is expected to receive $520 million today as part of $8 billion in federal economic stimulus funds President Barack Obama will distribute in 31 states to start building a national high-speed rail network.
The president touted high-speed rail in Wednesday night’s State of […]
Money for Roads not Reducing Unemployment (Associated Press)
AP Report: No Tangible Impact on Jobless from Government Stimulus Funds for Rebuilding Roads and Bridges
Ten months into President Barack Obama’s first economic stimulus plan, a surge in spending on roads and bridges has had no effect on local unemployment and only barely helped the beleaguered construction industry, […]
34 Contracts Totaling More Than $107 Million Awarded for Highway Projects Across North Carolina (Press Release)
Includes 13 funded through American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
RALEIGH — Gov. Bev Perdue announced today that 34 contracts totaling more than $107 million have been awarded for highway and bridge projects across North Carolina, including 13 projects funded through the […]
Tax money spent to advertise stimulus projects (WRAL.com)
Fayetteville, N.C. — The state Department of Transportation has spent $135,000 in taxpayer funds to install signs touting road projects paid for with more than $800 million in federal stimulus money.
Signs like one on the Fayetteville loop highway construction project near Fort Bragg aren’t directional and don’t point […]
LaHood: Ban lobbyists, earmarks in second stimulus (Associated Press)
WASHINGTON — The latest government effort to create jobs should have the same tough restrictions on lobbyists and lawmakers’ pet projects as the $787 billion stimulus plan did, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Thursday.
LaHood is the first official to say whether the administration wants to replicate the […]
States’ Use of Highway and Transit Funds and Efforts to Meet the Act’s Requirements (GAO Report)
Three-quarters of Recovery Act highway funds have been obligated, and reimbursements from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) are increasing. As of November 16, 2009, $20.4 billion had been obligated for just over 8,800 highway projects nationwide and $4.2 billion had […]
Putting the Cart Before the Horse (Newsweek)
Could a transportation-based jobs stimulus stymie infrastructure reform?
When the Interstate 35 bridge between Minneapolis and St. Paul collapsed nearly two and a half years ago, killing 13 people, the unsexy issue of infrastructure maintenance seemed ready to have its political moment. The nation’s crumbling road system needed an […]
