The Department of Transportation has mapped out 32 projects the federal economic stimulus package will pay for.
The projects total nearly $39 dollars and will support about a thousand jobs.
MoDOT Director Pete Rahn says most of the work involves laying asphalt to make roads smoother and safer. He says more than $14 million will be used to resurface sections of Interstate 70 in Lafayette and Cooper counties. Despite the projects being pushed forward because of the federal funding, he admits not everyone is getting a piece of the pie.
Rahn points out the tough provisions attached to that money — 50 percent of the funds must be obligated by mid-June, and the projects must be completed within three years.
In addition, the Federal Highway Administration has said priority should be given to projects that maximize job creation and economic benefit and are located in economically distressed areas.
Rahn says the $637 million Missouri’s getting in stimulus funds is welcome, but doesn’t seem like a lot when the state is looking at $31 billion in transportation needs over the next 20 years.
Rahn and the Missouri Highways and Transporation Commission also discussed the $150 million on its way for air, rail, transit, waterway and pedestrian projects throughout the state. That work is expected to create about 14 thousand jobs and have a $2.4 billion impact on the state’s economy.
Rahn says that’s what the stimulus money is all about … funding projects in areas that are the most economically distressed, will provide a maximum number of jobs and that will create future economic growth and infrastructure.
Jessica Machetta reports [Download/listen MP3]
