Missouri has done a terrific job: Recovery Act funds good transportation projects, good jobs across the state

In St. Louis today, I told the Regional Business Council that Missouri has done a terrific job of using recovery funds to invest in good transportation projects across its cities, suburbs, and rural communities. And I congratulated Governor Jay Nixon, state Transportation Director Pete Rahn, and St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay for recognizing the economic opportunities offered by this landmark legislation.

Many may not know this, but the first American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) project in Missouri apparently broke ground as soon as President Obama signed the Act into law.

Since that historic day, we at DOT have made available over $570 million in transportation-related ARRA money for hundreds and hundreds of projects in Missouri. And the Show-Me State has already committed more than 70% of its total recovery highway funds. In fact, Missouri ranks 5th in the nation in terms of highway stimulus funds spent so far.

And these efforts are really making a difference to the folks who live and work in Missouri. For example, there’s a highway project in St. Louis funded by the Recovery Act, to fix up Memorial Drive down by the Arch. This $5 million project is going to make this stretch of road safer for pedestrians and much smoother for drivers. It's not the biggest stimulus project on the books, but this one project is responsible for preventing layoffs and for rehiring workers who were laid off.

Last March, soon after the Recovery Act began, contractors hired in Missouri on stimulus projects reported 71 direct jobs as a result. By June, they reported about 700 jobs. And by July, it was over 1,000 jobs. This upward trend should continue for months to come with:

• 8 projects at Missouri airports
• $41 million for 5 urban transit projects in and around St. Louis
• More than half a million in Amtrak projects
• Potential grants in high-speed rail development
• Missouri's possible discretionary TIGER grants

That's stimulus.

But, the benefits don't end with the jobs created directly. There's an economic ripple effect as the electricians, equipment operators, and others earning a paycheck on these jobs will spend some of that money locally. That’s good news for the community and for the businesses in the area looking for new customers.

It's good new for Missouri, and good news for America.

And the economic ripple effect from all this activity in Missouri will carry well into next year and beyond:

I know the Recovery Act can't make up for all the jobs our economy has shed. But every single job these investments help to protect, every worker who’s recalled from a layoff, every new college graduate who finds that crucial first job--every one of these counts as a victory.

Thank you, Missouri, for your hard work implementing the Recovery Act. Together, we’re going to bring America back, and build the transportation infrastructure that our great nation needs and deserves.

 

Comments

[Michael E. Bailey]

The stimulus program has been great across the country, too. Orange County will put alot of people back to work on road and freeway projects. And Orange County Metrolink Railroad stations are being modernized--the one in Anaheim will be complhetely rebuilt. With Orange County being the economic engine for the state that is more great news. Promoting new technology would be another great way to put more people back to work. The Administration has already done some of this with funding for electric batteries for transportation. Do you still have the National Fuel Cell Bus Program? That would be a great research project. Putting Fuel Cell buses on the road at Orange County Transportation Authorihty, L.A. Metro, Long Beach City Transit and other transit agencies in the southern California area would be an important way of cleaning up southern California's air, southern California air was down graded by the state yesterday. Best wishes, Michael E. Bailey.