"Our infrastructure needs are so large," said Mark Casso, president of the Construction Industry Round Table. "What's required is sustained expenditures and a commitment of dollars over time."

Funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act are being put to use on more than 8,500 highway and bridge projects nationwide, improving nearly 24,000 miles of roads.

Nearly 70 percent of transportation contractors reported receiving recovery-funded work in 2009, according to a survey by the Transportation Construction Coalition.

But with private construction work yet to revive and state and local governments still cutting their budgets, 44 percent of transportation construction companies anticipate they will have to let go of employees this year, cnnmoney.com reported.

Even with recovery funding, 63 percent said they had to lay off employees last year due to the poor economy.

The Associated General Contractors released last week a broader survey of the entire construction sector. It found almost 90 percent of contractors do not expect to see their business grow this year and 27 percent expect they'll have to resort to layoffs.

The outlook for this year is bleak, they say, unless Congress passes a well-funded six-year surface transportation authorization measure.

"Unfortunately for the industry and for our economy, this year's construction outlook is far from positive," said Stephen Sandherr, AGC's CEO. "As long as the construction industry remains mired in its own depression, broader economic and employment growth will continue to lag."