Stimulus dollars buying more transportation system miles than expected

Whether we're talking about roadways, transitways, railways, runways, or taxiways, the news is out that the American people are getting more miles of transportation infrastructure for their dollar.

Sean Holstege and Ronald J. Hansen report in the Arizona Republic that bids for Arizona Department of Transportation highway projects covered by funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) are 10 to 20 percent lower than expected. They also cite similar results from California's DOT.

Michael Cooper in the New York Times finds discounted bids being reported by Pennsylvania, Utah, and Louisiana.

Gary Richards in the Mercury News features several local transportation planners and administrators from California's Bay Area commenting on the surprisingly low bids received.

As I said in Arizona last week, "The bids are coming in lower than we would have imagined. It means our dollars will go further."

ARRA funds represent a significant infusion into local economies across the nation, and that means jobs. But that good news is made even better because those funds can now be used for even more projects, which means even more jobs. That is good value for the American people.

It's pretty clear why companies are bidding so low; there's been a historic decline in prices for materials and a shortage of jobs for construction workers.  So, there's a huge appetite for these projects, and people are raring to go. We're already seeing new jobs being created and workers being hired for ARRA-funded transportation projects around the nation.

Companies want work; people want work; and this Administration wants to keep putting them to work.

Comments

[Christopher Cotrell]

Now, imagine how much lower the bids would be on similar projects if it weren't for ARRA. That's exactly why we need the stimulus--to keep us out of an ever worsening spiral of compressive deflation. The fact that the bids are so low is itself a worrisome sign, and I would not be surprised if we end up needing another stimulus package, but in the meantime we're saving jobs and getting a great deal on infrastructure at the same time. Great work!

[Evan]

That's pretty solid news. Where does the money saved go? Back to the federal gov't?

And sweet plug for Gary Richards. He's a great columnist, and that's my local paper.

[Ken Ott]

I would hope that if not built by GM and Exxon, that regional agencies and cities around the nation will be putting in more public rail transport. ARRA helps accomplish this. We are behind China ($88B for trains) and India ($30B) this year alone. ARRA helps us now, and it will help when oil prices go back through the roof in the coming years - or is simply unavailable.