Transportation Investments: Getting America Back to Work
Contents
BackgroundH.R. 1, "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009"H.R. 1 makes supplemental appropriations for job preservation and creation, infrastructure investment, energy efficiency and science, assistance to the unemployed, and State and local fiscal stabilization, for fiscal year ending September 30, 2009, and for other purposes. The Conference Report appropriates $48.12 billion for USDOT, more than either the House bill or the Senate bill. Breakdown by Mode: 
Highways:
Transit:
Aviation:
Passenger Rail:
Water Resources:
ARRA Transportation Project & Job Statistics
Investment Highlights
The I-215 Widening in San Bernardino, California is using $128 million in Recovery Act funding to support phase 3 of the multifaceted project. Construction began on the project's first two phases in 2007, which includes bridge replacement and road widening along the southern end of the corridor in downtown San Bernardino. When completed in 2013, all four phases of the $800 million project will help revitalize one of America's most economically distressed communities. It will also greatly ease congestion along a route expected to grow from an estimated 83,000 drivers daily to 130,000 in the next 20 years. The US 33 Nelsonville Bypass in southeast Ohio will be relying on $138 million in Recovery Act funding to pay for the second and third phases of the project. The project involves the construction of a new 8.5 mile, four-lane highway to divert freight traffic from US 33, which bottlenecks in the town of Nelsonville, where US 33 becomes a two-lane street from a four-lane highway. US 33 currently carries more than 1,700 trucks per day between Columbus, Ohio and Charleston, West Virginia, making it one of the busiest truck routes in Ohio. The second and third phases of this project were not set to begin until 2012 and 2015 until the infusion of funding from the Recovery Act. The I-279 Fort Duquesne Bridge Preservation Project in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania will use $26.2 million of ARRA funding will support improvements on 16 bridge and ramp structures and steel, concrete and deck repairs to ensure the bridge stays in good condition for the 80,000 drivers that use it each day. The TH-610 Extension project in suburban Minneapolis, Minnesota relies on $27 million in Recovery Act funding to build three miles of a brand new four-lane roadway in Maple Grove from Highway 169 to County Road 81, as well as two interchanges, three overpasses, a pedestrian bridge and noise walls. The state estimates that this job will create 200 jobs. In addition, the Recovery Act funding helped this project get underway an estimated three years earlier than otherwise possible. The I-405 "Braids" Project in Bellevue, Washington uses $30 million in Recovery Act funding to build this $278.6 million congestion relief project outside of Seattle. The contractor says 300 workers are working to help "braid" multi-level ramps to separate vehicles entering and exiting northbound I-405, add a bypass lane for eastbound traffic, and improve access from downtown Bellevue. When completed in late 2012, the project will reduce congestion, improve safety for drivers, and enhance pedestrian and bicycle access. 
US 19/SR 55 Interchange in Clearwater, Florida uses $44.2 million in Recovery Act funding to move this $123.4 million project ahead by two years. The project has created 120 jobs and will reduce area traffic congestion significantly by building two new interchanges and removing numerous traffic signals, resulting in 12 miles of uninterrupted traffic for the route's estimated 89,500 daily drivers. The Inner-Dispersal Loop (IDL) in Tulsa, Oklahoma is using $75 million of Recovery Act funding to support this 580-day project to completely reconstruct and re-deck more than 40 bridges on the west and north legs of the IDL. It is estimated that this project, already well underway, will create a total of nearly 600 direct and indirect jobs as a result of one year of construction. The project is expected to produce an economic impact of nearly $137 million for the local economy over the course of construction. The four-mile IDL, which encircles downtown Tulsa and averages more than 62,000 vehicles each day. *Link to the background page we built for our event in Tulsa. (http://www.fasterbettersafer.org/home/press-room/news-release/42.html) The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) in Chicago, Illinois received grants from two separate FTA programs in the amounts of $191.3 million and $48.9 million to fund bus purchases, preventive maintenance, subway rehabilitation, and the renovation of rail stations and support facilities. CTA plans to replace as many as 58 60-foot hybrid diesel-electric buses; replace aging and deteriorating components of the Blue Line Dearborn Subway in central Chicago and to renovate bus, rail, and support facilities throughout the CTA system. CTA also plans to renovate rail transit stations, including Cermak-Chinatown and Logan Square. The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) in Atlanta, Georgia use $10.8 million from the Recovery Act to provide bus canopies with solar-paneled roofs at the bus storage lot at the Laredo Bus Maintenance Facility. The roofs of the structures, fitted with photovoltaic cells, will produce power and reduce temperatures underneath canopies. The cells are integrated with Atlanta's power grid so that MARTA can sell its surplus electricity to Georgia Power. The Transit Authority of River City (TARC), Kentucky will use $17.7 million in Recovery Act funds to replace ten 40-foot, low-floor buses that are four years beyond their useful life. In addition, TARC will build a new maintenance and training facility at Union Station in Louisville and thoroughly renovate the Broadway Division bus storage building. TestimonialsPlaying: Alison Barber: Castle Rock Construction, Denver, CO
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