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States Deliver Economic Recovery Projects05-04-09 | News

States Deliver Economic Recovery Projects




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At the first oversight hearing on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act effort, conducted by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Biehler testified that the lower bids will help states whittle away at the backlog of projects which far exceeds the available recovery dollars.


Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation Allen D. Biehler told a House transportation committee that competition for stimulus projects is helping drive down bids for the work, offering an added benefit from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

?EUR??,,????'??With the unemployment rate for construction workers higher than 21 percent, companies are struggling to survive and are competing fiercely for recovery projects,?EUR??,,????'?? Secretary Biehler said. ?EUR??,,????'??The result should be that states will be able to stretch these investments even further than expected and will deliver more projects and the associated jobs generated by the added investment.?EUR??,,????'??

A survey by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials found that some states reported project bids coming in from between 5 and 27 percent below estimates. Biehler, who also serves as AASHTO?EUR??,,????'???s President, described examples of the wide range of recovery projects being approved, from Interstate reconstruction in Oklahoma to critical bridge repairs and replacements in his home state of Pennsylvania. ?EUR??,,????'??? Courtesy of AASHTO

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