101 Highway Improvement Projects Underway or Completed in South Carolina Thanks to Stimulus Law

SOUTH CAROLINA & WASHINGTON, DC – March 8, 2010 – There are currently 101 American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA)-financed highway construction projects underway or completed in South Carolina involving $278 million in funds, according to data released today by the Washington, D.C.-based American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). The projects underway or completed have supported or are supporting 7,736 jobs in South Carolina that would otherwise not exist, says ARTBA Vice President of Economics & Research Dr. Bill Buechner.

ARRA, signed into law on February 17, 2009, provided $48 billion for transportation improvements over two years, including $27.5 billion for highway, bridge and related construction projects nationwide. The law is having significant impacts on the transportation construction industry in all 50 states.

ARRA provided $465.3 million to South Carolina for highway, bridge and related improvements. This one-time bonus added more than 84 percent to South Carolina’s regular federal highway funds under the current federal surface transportation law — Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) — bringing the state’s total federal highway funding in 2009 to a record $1.01 billion.

According to Buechner, a Harvard-trained economist, another 70 projects have been identified and are slated to be under construction shortly.

The following shows the number of ARRA-financed highway projects and amount obligated in each

  South Carolina congressional district.

   Congressional District         Number of projects        Amount Obligated
   ———————- ——————    —————-
              1                                              20                              $43,693,777
             —                                            —                                  ———–
              2                                               27                              $57,504,573
             —                                            —                                  ———–
              3                                              31                              $63,694,984
             —                                            —                                  ———–
              4                                              18                              $51,372,999
             —                                            —                                  ———–
              5                                              26                              $56,928,803
             —                                            —                                  ———–
              6                                              21                                $56,067,356
             —                   &n
bsp;                            —                              ———–
  Multidistrict/Statewide                     28                              $93,909,292
  ———————–                               —                              ———–

A full report can be obtained by contacting ARTBA’s Jeff Solsby at [email protected] or 202-289-4434.

For 108 years, ARTBA has represented the U.S. transportation design and construction industry before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, news media and general public.