States Highway Departments: $64 Billion in Projects ‘Shovel Ready’
Filed under: Barack Obama, Economic Stimuls, Ohio Economy, Recession, State of Ohio Govt, U.S. Congress, U.S. Economy
How Many Rail, Light Rail Projects are Shovel Ready?
In a news release last Friday, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) said that there are at least 5,000 transportation projects across the fruited plain that are ‘ready to go.’ Ready to go means that the projects are within six months of being under contract.
AASHTO’s information comes from a survey of its members, essentially state highway and other transportation departments. In the release, highways and bridges were mentioned and the group claims $1.8 million jobs would be created by pursuing the work on their list.
Ohio is reported as having $2.16 billion in projects ‘ready to go.’ This list comes of course in a climate of interest in pursuing public works projects as a major portion of an early 2009 economic stimulus package from Congress and the president.
My Question
As this stimulus package is put together, will there be any strategic thinking? If we’re going to spend hundreds of billions on economic stimulus, is it too much to ask for Congress and the Obama Administration to give some thought to what they want an America in twenty or thirty years to look like?
Already, you have the usual suspects lining up ready to begin moving earth and pouring concrete. AASHTO’s release from Friday is an example. Public works in too many people’s eyes means roads and the like. What about mass transit? What about rail?
The current lower price of oil is only a respite along what will someday be seen as a long, drawn-out upward trend. There will be many peaks and valleys, but oil is a non-renewable resource that has come and gone through its golden age of plenty.
As the country gets ready to do what I believe along with many others has to be done – major economic stimulus targeted at public works – we need to take the time and redefine what public works should be in the 21st century.
How many times have you heard someone say, “Boy, wouldn’t it be great if you get around this country on rail like you can in Europe?” Now is the time we could take a step in that direction. It would be beneficial for people and the economy in many enduring ways.
