Read Press Release on Ok.gov
Oklahoma City — Gov. Brad Henry
announced today that Oklahoma motorists will soon see federal stimulus
dollars at work improving roads and bridges across the state. The
Oklahoma Transportation Commission will begin awarding contracts on
almost $250 million in stimulus transportation projects on Monday.
The governor and transportation officials held a State Capitol news
conference Friday afternoon to provide an overview of the projects in
the first round of Oklahoma stimulus improvements.
“The federal stimulus funds will help make immediate improvements to
Oklahoma’s highway system and boost job creation and economic activity
in the process,” said Gov. Henry. “The big winners are Oklahoma
motorists and the state economy.”
The $250 million in federal stimulus dollars will fund some 40 highway
improvement projects across the state, including interstate repairs,
major bridge rehabilitations and safety initiatives such as cable
barriers.
The Oklahoma Department of Transportation has placed the stimulus
projects on an accelerated construction schedule to take advantage of
the spring and summer months when weather-related delays are fewer.
These projects were already a part of ODOT’s eight-year construction
plan. By financing them with stimulus dollars, ODOT will be able to
direct other transportation funds to expedite the completion of
additional 8-year plan projects.
“The stimulus funds are providing a significant boost to our efforts to
update and improve the statewide transportation network. All planned
projects, even those that will not directly receive stimulus dollars,
will benefit from this effort,” said the governor.
ODOT began identifying shovel-ready road projects last year when
discussions of a stimulus package first began in Washington, DC, and
the agency ultimately identified $1.1 billion in projects that could be
let for contract under federal stimulus guidelines. If other states are
unable to meet federal deadlines for starting their projects, Oklahoma
could ultimately receive additional stimulus funds for transportation
improvements.
“When it comes to moving quickly and efficiently to implement the
stimulus package on transportation, Oklahoma has really led the way for
the rest of the country. I want to commend state transportation leaders
for their good work because Oklahoma was more than ready to hit the
ground running,” said Gov. Henry.
For more information on specific stimulus transportation projects, please contact:
Terri Angier, ODOT, 405-521-6004
tangier@odot.org
Posted on
Fri, March 27, 2009
by Crystal Drwenski
filed under