Despite a reassurance from state department of transportations, stimulus progress in the road and bridge industry has stalled.
This is according to the Los Angeles Times, which reported that more than 3,600 of the 5,600 road projects backed by stimulus dollars have not been given the green light for construction.
States have indeed targeted specific projects, but the bidding process is extending the lull in activity. According to the Los Angeles Times, two projects in the state of California, which has been in economic distress for months, still have not officially broken ground even though they were approved with stimulus funds back in May.
Caltrans has been taking bids for the Rte. 24 project, valued at $192 million, in Oakland since May 18, and the $128 million I-215 job in San Bernardino County will release its call for offers on July 23.
The picture is bleaker in Florida. According to the Times, that state had 272 stimulus projects valued at more than $1 billion approved by the federal government, but as of July 10 not a single one had been put into action.
“Given the lags in spending and hiring, the peak impact of the stimulus on jobs is expected not to be achieved until the end of 2010,” Lawrence Summers, President Obama’s top economic advisor, told the Los Angeles Times.
With a bulk of stimulus-funded projects still sitting in the bin, contractors need to know how to capitalize. A webinar, titled “Winning and Profiting from American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, will be hosted by Leica Geosystems on July 30 at 2 p.m. EST. To register for this event, go to http://portal.leicaus.com/howtowin/register_webinar.cfm.
