Stimulus News You Can Use is one way WSDOT is working to keep transportation stakeholders updated on the fast-moving effort to put people to work and improve the state’s infrastructure. Each edition will have information on project delivery and highlights. Sign up to receive stimulus news e-mail updates. Visit the Newsletter Archive for earlier editions.

This week's stimulus snapshot

• Recovery Act highway project payroll totaled over $5.3 million in February
• I-90 project resumes near Lake Easton 
• Quarterly federal Recovery Act accountability reporting is under way 
• Key April dates 
• Useful Recovery Act web links 
• This week by the numbers
  

Stimulus project employees earned over $5.3 million in February – Payroll on Recovery Act highway projects declined slightly from January to February as Employees on state and local projects receiving Recovery Act highway funds worked over 130,000 hours and earned payroll totaling over $5.3 million in January. To date, employees have worked almost 1.7 million hours on projects receiving highway stimulus funds and earned $65 million. It was the eighth straight month workers have put in over 130,000 labor hours and earned over $5 million in payroll on stimulus projects. The full data set is available at WSDOT’s stimulus employment webpage.

• Labor hours and payroll decreased from January, when employees worked over 152,000 hours and earned almost $6 million. Due to the winter weather and project completions this fall, labor hours and payroll for November, December, January, and February have declined from a high in October, when employees worked 284,000 hours and earned $10.9 million.

One additional local Recovery Act project awarded – The city of Bellingham awarded its Bakerview and Hannegan/Woburn project on April 29. The project, which will provide preservation resurfacing on arterial roads, is receiving $1.3 million in Recovery Act funds.

Two cable median barrier projects awarded – WSDOT awarded two cable median barrier projects on US 101 and SR 303. To date, 13 cable median barrier projects receiving $9 million in Recovery Act funds have been awarded, including six completed projects.

Reporting under way for the third OMB Quarterly Report – States and local governments receiving stimulus funds are submitting detailed quarterly Recovery Act accountability reports to the White House Office of Management and Budget. The reporting deadline was extended to April 16 due to federal technical difficulties. Recipients of stimulus funds will report employment and financial data for stimulus grants and contracts, including highway, aviation, transit, and ferries projects. On April 30, the data will be published on the federal stimulus website www.Recovery.gov.

Highlight of the week

Construction resumes on I-90 Recovery Act project near Lake Easton

WSDOT and crews will resume construction on two I-90 improvement projects next week: the $18.4 million I-90 Lake Easton to Bullfrog project and the $77 million I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East – Hyak to Keechelus Dam project. Drivers should plan for traffic revisions, added travel time, and visual distractions.

“WSDOT and our construction crews are ready to go to work, and the I-90 corridor is ready for these preservation and improvement projects,” said Bob Hooker, WSDOT Assistant Project Engineer. “Most of the concrete pavement on I-90 has exceeded its service life by many years and is deteriorating rapidly.”

Crews started construction on the nine-mile American Recovery and Reinvestment Act-funded Lake Easton to Bullfrog project in September 2009. They rehabilitated approximately five miles of deteriorating concrete of the right-hand lane and asphalt shoulders of westbound I-90 before winter began.

On April 12, crews from Gary Merlino Construction Co. (Seattle) will resume work on the project by installing detours on I-90 between Easton (milepost 70) and Nelson Siding Road (milepost 74). This work may cause visual distractions and add up to one hour to drivers’ afternoon commute times across the pass.

Crews anticipate completing the concrete replacement work by Memorial Day weekend, before the peak summer time travel season begins and traffic volumes increase. This project, when complete, restores the structural integrity of the roadway, extends the service life of the pavement, provides a smoother, safer ride, and supports 135 jobs.


Key April dates

April 10: Third quarterly performance report due to OMB
April 20: Next performance report due to House T & I Committee
April 20: House T & I Subcommittee holds next Recovery Act hearing
April 30: Stimulus data to be published to www.Recovery.gov


Websites of interest

WSDOT ARRA website: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/funding/stimulus
Washington recovery website: http://www.recovery.wa.gov/
Federal recovery website: http://www.recovery.gov/
FHWA recovery website: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/economicrecovery/index.htm
Federal Transit Administration recovery website: www.fta.dot.gov/recovery
Federal Rail Administration recovery website: http://www.fra.dot.gov/us/content/2153
Federal Aviation Administration recovery website: http://www.faa.gov/recovery
OMB recovery website: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/recovery_default/

This week by the numbers (project dollars in millions)