States Meet DOT Stimulus Deadline Ahead of Shutdown

All states met a key deadline in last year’s stimulus law to obligate their highway project spending before March 2, said Vice President Joseph Biden and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

That removes a potential disruption from this week’s partial shutdown of the Department of Transportation, which began furloughing thousands of workers March 1 after Highway Trust Fund programs expired Feb. 28.

Since those workers were also needed to process state paperwork for stimulus awards, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee had warned the DOT staffing disruption might prevent some states from qualifying for all the money they could get from last year’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Had the states not obligated all the funds by March 2, they would have had to forfeit some of the stimulus dollars allotted for them under ARRA.

But in a statement today the White House said “every state met the target by Feb. 26 and more than 30 of them did so at least a week ahead of schedule, putting a total of $26.6 billion to work on highway projects nationwide. “

Biden and LaHood made their comments from Clermont, Fla., at a $20 million project funded by stimulus funds to widen State Road 25/U.S. Highway 27 over nearly four miles. Nationwide, they said, almost 7,800 stimulus-funded highway projects are under way.

But their appearance comes as the expiration of trust fund money means DOT cannot, for now, approve any more stimulus projects or federal disbursements to states for work already done, or any more federal funding for states under regular surface transportation programs.

LaHood said DOT furloughed 2,000 workers starting today, and more are expected as the trust fund expiration continues. The closure affects the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and some other key transportation offices.

Work has already halted on stimulus projects on federal lands, since they require U.S. inspectors to be on hand who are now being furloughed. Industry officials say the closures can also spread throughout state projects this week, as the states wait for federal payments under regular highway programs as well as ARRA checks.

See also “DOT Starts Furloughs Over Funding Hitch”
Contact John D. Boyd at jboyd@joc.com.