The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) progress report on the first 100 days of the Obama administration was encouraging: Of the $48.1 billion in economic recovery funding provided to the DOT (6 percent of total stimulus package funding), more than $9.3 billion had been obligated by states, transit systems and airports, and more than 2,500 projects had been selected.
The first stimulus-funded project, resurfacing Maryland Route 650, is supporting 22 jobs, while the 2,000th project to rebuild a $68 million interchange on I-94 in Portage, Mich., is generating 900 jobs. Overall, the administration estimates the $27.5 billion highway portion of the stimulus package will create or sustain 150,000 jobs.
Investment and spending momentum continues to build. Data collected by the DOT indicate that during the first six weeks after the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 became law, 4,300 highway and bridge projects—including those not funded by the stimulus package—were advanced for construction utilizing federal funds. By contrast, in 2008, only 2,600 projects were advanced during a typical six-week period.
The largest transportation project to begin this year is an $8.7 billion rail tunnel into New York City that is expected to trim 40 minutes from the time it takes New Jersey commuters to reach Manhattan. According to The Wall Street Journal, the 8.8-mile tunnel under the Hudson River will require the removal of 2 million cubic yards of rock and soil, approximately one-third as much as the Hoover Dam, and will take eight years to construct. According to New Jersey Gov. Jon -Corzine, the project “has the added value of creating 6,000 new jobs day in and day out for the next six to seven years.”
The DOT also reports that nearly all of the $1.1 billion in airport grants-in-aid have been approved for more than 250 airport infrastructure projects across the nation.
For its part, Amtrak has received $1.3 billion in capital grants that will enhance service by replacing obsolete bridges, modernizing electrical power, rehabilitating train stations and improving safety across the United States.
Public Policy Considerations
Beyond job creation and greater transit efficiency, this spending has the potential to advance several public policy objectives, such as environmental responsibility. According to the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy, roughly 30 percent of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions are produced by mobile sources, with private vehicles representing the largest contributor to household carbon footprints. As the world’s largest energy consumer and greenhouse gas emitter, America’s investment in improving transportation infrastructure stands to benefit a variety of commercial and environmental interests.