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

• New certification – Largest Recovery Act project receives more surplus funds 
• Employees earned almost $7 million on Recovery Act projects in July 
• Two more local projects completed 
• Three additional cable barrier projects completed 
• Important stimulus dates 
• Useful Recovery Act web links 
• Stimulus data table update 
  
  
  

New certification adds one local highway project and increases funds for I-405 project – Surplus funds due to low bids on earlier projects are helping provide additional funding to stimulus projects. On August 18, Governor Gregoire signed the latest certification to add one new Recovery Act project and contribute millions of additional funds to the state’s largest stimulus project. The new Ferry County – County Wide Guardrail project received $100,000 to install guardrail on Boulder Creek Road, Inchelium Highway, and West Curlew Lake Road. The certification also directs $22.5 million more stimulus dollars to the I-405/NE 8th Street to SR 520 – Bellevue Braids project. The project, currently under contract construction by Guy F. Atkinson, is WSDOT’s largest recipient of stimulus funds. The Recovery Act is now providing $79.5 million toward the total project budget of over $200 million.

Stimulus project employees earned almost $7 million in July – Employees on state and local projects receiving Recovery Act highway funds worked over 190,000 hours and earned payroll totaling nearly $7 million in July. To date, employees have worked over 2.9 million hours on projects receiving highway stimulus funds and earned more than $113 million. It was the 13th straight month workers have put in over 140,000 labor hours and earned over $5 million in payroll on stimulus projects. The full data set is available at WSDOT’s stimulus employment webpage.

Two local Recovery Act highway projects completed –

• Ferndale – 2nd Avenue
• Battle Ground – Arterial Overlay

Three more cable barrier projects completed on US 12 and I-90 – Three cable median barrier projects, funded out of the $9 million in Recovery Act funds for statewide improvements were completed on US 12 and I-90 in July. Ten cable median barrier projects receiving stimulus funds have been completed and three more are under way. The three completed projects below were combined for construction efficiencies.

• US 12/Low Road to Naches River – Install Cable Barrier
• I-90/W Cle Elum Vicinity – Install Cable Barrier
• I-90/Homestead Valley Road to Tinkham Road Vicinity – Install Cable Barrier

Federal Transportation Blog highlights this week – Check the WSDOT Federal Issues blog for recent items on federal grants, tolling, congressional earmarks, and the latest information on federal transportation funding reauthorization.


Important dates

September 20: Next accountability report to the T & I Committee
September 30: Deadline for obligating Recovery Act highway funds
September 30: Next high-speed rail grant announcements expected
Fall: Next high-speed rail grant announcements expected
Fall: TIGER II award announcements expected
October 6: T & I Subcommittee hearing on passenger rail
October 14: Next quarterly accountability report due

Websites of interest

WSDOT ARRA website: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/funding/stimulus
WSDOT Federal Transportation Issues blog: http://wsdotfederalfunding.blogspot.com
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 Railroad 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)