WASHINGTON, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Nearly 70 percent of the $34.3 billion included in the U.S. economic stimulus plan for highways and transit programs has been put out to bid, and work has begun on 6,700 projects, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee said on Wednesday.
Those projects have translated into 165,000 jobs over the eight months since the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was passed.
Altogether, $42.5 billion in stimulus funding has been obligated for infrastructure work, which includes such capital projects as refurbishing sewers.
The committee, which checks regularly on the progress of stimulus dollars, said that Minnesota leads the country when it comes to states beginning waterway projects. So far, it has started projects representing 96 percent of the funding given to the state for updating its water systems.
Wyoming is tops in terms of highways, with almost all of its funding now given to projects that have been put out to bid or begun.
Seven states -- Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Mississippi, North Dakota, Rhode Island and Utah -- along with the nation's capital, the District of Columbia, have not moved at all to distribute their clean water allotments from the stimulus. And Virginia comes last in its rate of highway stimulus spending.
Illinois has shown the greatest jobs impact, according to committee estimates, with stimulus infrastructure funding leading to 18,587 full-time jobs, or 3.22 million hours of people working.
The data was collected by Sept. 30, as outdoor construction work began tapering off in cold weather states.
((Reporting by Lisa Lambert, Editing by Gary Crosse)) Keywords: USA INFRASTRUCTURE/STIMULUS JOBS (lisa.lambert@thomsonreuters.com; +1-202-898-8328; Reuters Messaging: lisa.lambert.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Those projects have translated into 165,000 jobs over the eight months since the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was passed.
Altogether, $42.5 billion in stimulus funding has been obligated for infrastructure work, which includes such capital projects as refurbishing sewers.
The committee, which checks regularly on the progress of stimulus dollars, said that Minnesota leads the country when it comes to states beginning waterway projects. So far, it has started projects representing 96 percent of the funding given to the state for updating its water systems.
Wyoming is tops in terms of highways, with almost all of its funding now given to projects that have been put out to bid or begun.
Seven states -- Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Mississippi, North Dakota, Rhode Island and Utah -- along with the nation's capital, the District of Columbia, have not moved at all to distribute their clean water allotments from the stimulus. And Virginia comes last in its rate of highway stimulus spending.
Illinois has shown the greatest jobs impact, according to committee estimates, with stimulus infrastructure funding leading to 18,587 full-time jobs, or 3.22 million hours of people working.
The data was collected by Sept. 30, as outdoor construction work began tapering off in cold weather states.
((Reporting by Lisa Lambert, Editing by Gary Crosse)) Keywords: USA INFRASTRUCTURE/STIMULUS JOBS (lisa.lambert@thomsonreuters.com; +1-202-898-8328; Reuters Messaging: lisa.lambert.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
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