Through the Recovery Act, DOT delivers second chances to infrastructure, workers

I’ve talked a lot about the benefits of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. And with $40.6 billion already obligated for more than 15,000 highway, road, transit, bridge and airport construction projects in 53 U.S. states and territories, the Department of Transportation is working hard to help deliver those benefits.

The Recovery Act is about second chances--second chances for aging infrastructure, second chances for cities, towns, counties and states with long-deferred projects, second chances for transportation companies, and second chances for workers looking to keep their jobs or get rehired.

That's true for several of the buses in the Town of Breckenridge, Colorado, one of which had sat idle for more than two years before being brought back to life. It's also true for the employees of American Transit Works in Lamar, Colorado, who helped get that bus and three others back in service.

Breckenridge #9209 awaits its ribbon-cutting. Photo courtesy Town of Breckenridge

American Transit Works already knew about second chances--it was created in 2006 by former Neoplan USA Corporation employees after that business--one of Lamar's biggest employers--closed its doors after 25 years. With its skilled workforce, ATW focused on structural rehabilitations, collision repairs, and major overhauls of transit buses.

But the Lamar area economy has been slow since Neoplan left in 2005. Nothing was happening; projects throughout the area were shelved due to economic decline. Eventually, ATW also was forced to lay off its seven employees and was about to shut down permanently.

Then things started to turn around. Thanks to a Recovery Act grant from the Federal Transit Administration, Breckenridge’s Free Ride System restarted a long-tabled project to refurbish four transit buses. ATW secured the contract and was able to get back to work immediately, rehiring its seven workers.

Says Mike Cook, a manager for American Transit Works, ““We did two (buses) last year and two this year, and that kept our doors open.”

Today, the company is still going strong. Through its quality work on the Breckenridge project, ATW has secured more contracts from transit agencies across the country. It also hired three new employees to keep up with the new work orders.

Inspecting the like-new bus before putting it back in service. Said Breckenridge Mayor John Warner, "Wow, it looks brand new!" Photo courtesy Town of Breckenridge

Marybeth Lewis-Baker, General Manager of Breckenridge Transit, said,” Lamar is in an economically distressed county and job development is very hard to come by. So good things are starting to happen, and all because the ARRA funds worked as they were intended. This is a real success story.”

I couldn’t agree more. The Town of Breckenridge has four like-new buses it has needed for years but couldn't afford. A small business on the brink of extinction is now expanding. Workers in an economically distressed area are being rehired.

All made possible by a single Recovery Act grant.

Comments

[George Landsverk]

Your website is too cluttered and complicated. Was told that the Sec DOT wanted comment on forcing all new street
signs in the US with a cost of NYC alone of 28 myn dollars.
With our econ as it is why isn't that a no brainer, please
don't try to force all new street sign in America which aren't needed except to use our tax dollars to pay a high
priced consultant to tell you that all new sign are needed.
Please run the DOT budget as tho it was your money. Regards, George Landsverk, Fort Collins, CO