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Thousands Of Projects Ready To Hit Road

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The Associated Press

Published: December 15, 2008

WASHINGTON - More than 5,000 highway projects - including $980 million in the Tampa Bay area that help comprise the $7 billion dollars' worth in Florida - are ready to go, state transportation officials say, if Congress will only pony up $64.3 billion as part of an economic aid plan.

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, which compiled the list, said the projects would provide jobs and help shore up a backlog of crumbling roads and bridges.

The group wants Congress to include the projects in an economic recovery bill that could total as much as $500 billion. The spending is a priority for President-elect Barack Obama and Democratic congressional leaders, who say they hope to have it ready for the new president to sign when he takes office Jan. 20.

SUPPORTERS

•Obama wants to create the largest public works project since the building of the federal highway system in the 1950s - a program focused on repairing roads and schools.

•Supporters of such public works spending say it is a surer way to create jobs than, for example, the $600 to $1,200 tax rebate checks sent out to individuals and couples this year, and can provide lasting economic benefits.

•The Federal Highway Administration estimates that about 35,000 jobs are supported by every $1.25 billion spent on transportation projects.

CRITICS

•President Bush and other Republicans have resisted such an approach in part out of concern for the already soaring federal budget deficit, which could easily hit $1 trillion this year.

•Conservative economists have also long derided public works spending as a poor response to tough economic times, saying it has not been a reliable catalyst for short-term growth and instead is more about politicians gaining points with constituents.

•Skeptics say infrastructure spending is relatively slow-acting and its effects will not be fully felt until the economy is already on the rebound.

THE ROAD PROJECTS

•Governors made a round of calls on Capitol Hill recently with the message that there are $136 billion in infrastructure projects ready for inclusion in an aid bill, including school repairs and water and sewer projects in addition to transportation.

•The road projects are mostly repairs and upgrades to existing roads and bridges considered "ready to go" because they could be under contract within 180 days.

•The state with the highest dollar list of projects was Utah at $10.8 billion, followed by Florida, almost $7 billion; Texas, $6 billion; North Carolina, $5.2 billion; and California, $5 billion. The District of Columbia, $56 million, and Vermont, $78.4 million, had the least expensive project lists.

FEDERAL

HIGHWAY ACT

•The federal interstate highway program is widely seen as one of the most successful public works efforts in American history.

•President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Federal Aid Highway Act in 1956.

•The act resulted in the construction of 42,795 miles of roads.

•In 1991, the government concluded that the total cost came to $128.9 billion, with the federal government paying $114.3 billion and the states picking up the rest.

LOCAL PROJECTS

These projects in the Tampa Bay area could be up and running within 90 to 120 days:

•U.S. 41 from Tower Road to Ridge Road, $27 million

•U.S. 19 from Whitney Road to Seville Boulevard, $80 million

•Ulmerton Road from 119th Street to Seminole Bypass, $23 million

•Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard from Highview Road to Parsons Avenue, $11 million

•U.S. 19 from Seville Boulevard to S.R. 60, $78 million

•I-275 from S.R. 60 to Himes Avenue, $228 million

•I-75 from Fowler Avenue to Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, $80 million

•I-75 from Bruce B. Downs Boulevard to S.R. 56, $40 million

•Roosevelt Boulevard from westbound Roosevelt to the I-275 northbound ramp, $30 million

•Alexander Street from I-4 to Knights-Griffin Road, $32 million

•I-275 from Himes Avenue to the Hillsborough River, $98 million

•I-75 from the I-275/I-75 junction to S.R. 56, $51 million

•Pinellas Bayway at the Intracoastal Waterway, bridge replacement, $76 million

•Pinellas Bayway from Gulf Boulevard to Isla Del Sol, bridge replacement, $84 million

•I-275 from U.S. 41 to proposed East-West Road, $25 million

•I-275 from proposed East-West Road to I-275/I-75 junction, $17 million

Source: Florida Department of Transportation, as reported by Tribune reporter Rich Shopes

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