NEARLY $250 MILLION IN STIMULUS FUNDS ALLOCATED FOR TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE IN SAN DIEGO REGION

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Congressman Filner provides update on funds with breakdown by Congressional districts

 

By Miriam Raftery

December 12, 2009 (San Diego) – More than $250 million has been allocated for the San Diego region through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for transportation and infrastructure projects, according to figures released yesterday by Congressman Bob Filner (D-San Diego). Filner is a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which recently held a hearing titled The Recovery Act: Progress Report for Transportation Infrastructure Investment.”

On February 17, 2009, the Recovery Act was signed into law. The Recovery Act provided $48.1 billion of transportation investment for programs within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, including: $27.5 billion for highways and bridges; $8.4 billion for transit; $9.3 billion for passenger rail; $1.5 billion for competitive surface transportation grants; $1.3 billion for aviation; and $100 million for small shipyard grants. The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee established strict reporting requirements for states and local transportation agencies and has held regular hearings to measure States’ progress.

“The construction industry in San Diego County has been particularly hard-hit by the recession. It is critical that Congress ensure CALTRANS and local governments act quickly to spend federal stimulus funds and create jobs in San Diego County,” stated Congressman Filner. “On the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, we have been keeping track of every dollar that has been allocated, holding states and local government accountable.”

Funding allocated ranged from less than $2 million in Duncan Hunter’s 52nd Congressional district to a high of over $110 million in Darrell Issa’s 49th district. Filner’s 53rd district was allocated over $26 million, while $22 million has been allocated to Susan Davis in the 51st district and more than $12 million to Brian Bilbray’s 50th district. In addition, several area-wide projects have been allocated approximately $73 million including renovations of trolley tracks, stations, and a transit center. To view the full list of projects that have been announced in San Diego County to date, click here.

The Committee has also published a complete list of all announced projects on-line at: www.transportation.house.gov.

Based on the data reported by States to date, the 7,886 highway and transit projects that are underway nation-wide have created or sustained more than 210,000 direct, on-project jobs. Direct job creation from highway and transit projects has resulted in payroll expenditures exceeding $1.1 billion. Using this data, the Committee calculates that $179 million in unemployment checks have been avoided as a result of this direct job creation.

“Equally important as direct, on-project jobs, are indirect and induced jobs in the supply chain that have resulted from Recovery Act investments,” Filner stated. Indirect jobs include jobs at companies that produce construction materials such as steel, sand, gravel, cement, and asphalt, or manufacture equipment such as new transit buses. Total employment from these 7,886 highway and transit projects, which includes direct, indirect, and induced jobs, reaches nearly 630,000.


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