- March 2, 2010
DelDOT Commended for Putting 100 Percent of Recovery Act Highway Dollars to Work
Nearly $122 Million Obligated by March 2 Deadline
WILMINGTON – Delaware officials commended the Department of Transportation (DelDOT) today for putting nearly $122 million in Recovery Act funds to work. DelDOT met the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) obligation deadline of March 2 and has funded 32 projects – 27 of which are currently underway.
“This is exactly what the Recovery Act was intended to do: fund vital projects and put people back to work,” said Sens. Tom Carper and Ted Kaufman (both D-Del.). “From paving roads to installing sidewalks to mitigating congestion on I-95, the Recovery Act has created jobs in Delaware. DelDOT has picked a great range and variety of projects that will enhance our infrastructure and maintain motorist and pedestrian safety.”
“The road to economic recovery includes getting people to work improving our roads,” said Governor Jack Markell. “We have been diligent but thoughtful about using the assistance offered by the federal government. We are investing in getting people to work now on infrastructure improvements whose benefits we will see for years.”
DelDOT has completed 12 projects and seven are expected to start in the next four to eight weeks. As of today, 97 percent of the projects that have been bid were below the engineer’s estimate – meaning that Delaware’s projects’ value outweighs the actual costs. DelDOT projects have created and-or retained more than 400 jobs as of Dec. 31, 2009.
“The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding has helped spur investment in projects which would have taken much longer to fund, if at all, under the current economic conditions,” said DelDOT Secretary Carolann Wicks. “DelDOT’s intention was to be thoughtful about where the investments should be made and provide long-term impacts to transportation projects and economic development.”