Highway Investment Hits $20 Billion

 

Construction is underway on the $26.2 million I-279/Fort Duquesne Bridge preservation project in Pittsburgh to improve the safety of that structure and the 81,000 drivers who use it every day. -Courtesy of flickr from Yahoo

The states crossed the $20 billion mark in approved obligations for highway, road and bridge projects according to U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. He said more than three-fourths of the $26.6 billion available for federal highway and bridge projects under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has now been obligated.

"Even though winter is right around the corner, highway and bridge projects are still getting underway, creating thousands of jobs and saving thousands more," LaHood said. "The Recovery Act is helping repair America's roads and bridges while putting people back to work."

Some of those people could include landscape professionals who will design, build and maintain landscapes along those roads. Recent examples of those projects that were highlighted include: $36 million replacement of the I-25/Alameda Bridge in Denver; a project in San Bernardino, Calif., using $128 million in ARRA funds for additional lanes on I-215 to reduce traffic congestion; and a three-mile extension of Minneapolis' Trunk Highway 610 to I-94 that is expected to reduce traffic congestion and improve area residents' quality of life with sound walls and a pedestrian bridge. – Courtesy of AASHTO