DOT Stimulus Spending Tops $8 Billion

Payments by the Department of Transportation to reimburse states for stimulus projects reached $8.101 billion as of Jan. 8, DOT said, up about $1.3 billion in the past month.

DOT, in the latest tally of federal agencies on the Recovery.gov Web site, also said it has approved stimulus projects worth $32.926 billion. It is authorized to spend up to $48.1 billion under the 11-month-old American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The department ended 2009 having sent out stimulus checks totaling $7.955 billion. The latest total is up from $6.818 billion as of Dec. 4.

Most DOT spending under the stimulus measure is for road and bridge projects through the Federal Highway Administration, which has paid out $5.5 billion.

Other DOT funds go to airport repairs and transit system infrastructure or equipment needs. DOT is also expected soon to award $8 billion for passenger rail system expansion and $1.5 billion in discretionary grants for projects deemed of national importance.

The entire stimulus package is projected to put $787 billion into the economy through construction projects, entitlement spending, aid to states to cover some of their agency jobs and through tax reduction.

The government said stimulus spending by all agencies as of Jan. 8 totaled $167 billion, and tax cuts had injected more than $90 billion.

Contact John D. Boyd at jboyd@joc.com.