1st round of stimulus funds will help state infrastructure

The Indiana Department of Transportation announced Friday that funding for 29 additional infrastructure improvement projects worth $43.6 million across Indiana will come from the federal stimulus package.

The list is the second the department has presented this year. An earlier list, released Feb. 6, identified 27 other projects valued at $44.5 million.

Although the exact total Indiana will receive is still unknown, the stimulus package allocates $658 million for Indiana infrastructure projects, of which $440 million will go to the Department of Transportation, $198 million to local agencies and $20 million to mandatory transportation enhancement projects across the state, according to a release from Gov. Mitch Daniel’s office.

The Department of Transportation’s list identifies infrastructure projects including road and bridge construction, resurfacing, highway maintenance and improved traffic safety measures across 21 Indiana counties.

Bruce Childs, a spokesman for the Indiana Department of Transportation, said the agency will add more projects to the list in coming months because half the stimulus money must be set aside for specific projects by July 1.

“This is not a question of taking our time,” Childs said. “This is a question of getting these projects approved as quickly as possible and getting them out the door.”
Daniels has said his top priority is getting Hoosiers back to work as quickly as possible.

Childs said it is not yet possible to quantify how many jobs will be created, but because the projects are new and geographically diverse, they should put a lot of people back to work and stimulate the state’s economy.

Anticipating the passage of the stimulus package, the Department of Transportation began reviewing project proposals from metropolitan planning organizations across the state, looking for those that would employ a large number of workers, Childs said.

Projects approved by the Department of Transportation were then sent to the Federal Highway Administration for approval and allocation of funds.

Of the 56 projects already approved for stimulus funding, only one will benefit Monroe County – preventive maintenance and asphalt overlay on State Road 48 from State Road 37 to Curry Pike – but the Bloomington/Monroe County Metropolitan Planning Organization is compiling a list to submit to INDOT for approval.

Joshua Desmond, director of the Monroe County Metropolitan Planning Organization, said the organization already has a master wish list of infrastructure projects with a total estimated value of more than $40 million. The organization is in the process of narrowing that list down to a manageable level.

The master list includes bridge improvements on five roads, pavement preservation on more than 25 roads, safety and pedestrian improvements on several roads, two reconstruction projects and various transit improvements throughout Monroe County.

“The idea is to get as many people back to work as possible,” Desmond said. “The transportation money will put a lot of people back to work building roads, sidewalks and improving infrastructure.”

Desmond said the list of Monroe County projects could be finished as early as March 13.

“Obviously, a million dollars in Bloomington won’t have as big of an impact as several million dollars across the state,” Desmond said. “If you look at the country as a whole, the sheer number of projects we’re putting on the ground should get a lot of people back to work.”

On Tuesday, the Governor’s Office launched a Web site, INvest.in.gov, that will make it easier for Hoosiers to keep track of how the state is spending federal stimulus money.

Daniels has echoed President Barack Obama’s calls to maintain transparency and accountability during the economic recovery.

In an introductory message to the site’s visitors, Daniels wrote, “We must never forget that Washington does not have the money it is now beginning to distribute. The federal government will be borrowing it, and our children will inherit the bill. Our duty to use it wisely and efficiently is therefore a very solemn one.”