In terms of stimulus money, the state of New Hampshire knows how to get things done.
It has dedicated more than $145 million in American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) money, listing them in the top 10 nationally according to the U.S. DOT.
The state has been able to capitalize on the relief by speeding up contractor approvals, changing laws and creating a statewide stimulus director, Bud Fitch, who has been pushing the use of green cover sheets in an effort to expedite the process.
“Everyone has been instructed to grab the green ones, they go on top,” Fitch told the Associated Press. “Try to turn those around in a day, instead of the typical several days.”
Another reason why New Hampshire has been turning around transportation projects so quickly is the fact that it has a killer 30-year backlog of jobs. Once $129 million was injected into the program, the process was an easy one.
In the month of May alone, the New Hampshire Department of Transportation announced $29 million for local transportation projects. However, some local politicians, where there is a $2 billion need, have been disappointed with the initial results of ARRA.
“There was a huge expectation that we were going to see the kind of activity that people have sort of legendary thoughts about [the national public works program that employed millions in the 1930s and ’40s],” Maura Carroll, general counsel of New Hampshire’s Local Government Center, told the Associated Press.
