The House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee released a report Thursday detailing the latest highway and transit numbers pertaining to state spending of recovery act funds. Work has begun or has finished on nearly 90% of recovery-funded highway and bridge projects, according to the report.

"States are moving fast this summer to create jobs and complete projects," said John Horsley, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. "It is amazing how many highways and bridges have been rebuilt using recovery dollars during the last 18 months."

State DOTs have 15,734 highway and transit projects underway, and have already spent more than $6 billion on completed projects since the program began. Projects totaling almost $30 billion are under construction during these peak summer construction months.

In Maine, New Hampshire, Utah, and Wyoming, construction has started or been completed on 100% of the highway and bridge projects that received recovery money; 35 other states have commenced work on or finished more than 90% of projects.

Employment on recovery-funded highway and transit projects has steadily increased during the spring and summer seasons, when construction peaks throughout most of the country. There were 41,155 direct, on-project jobs created or sustained in March, according to data collected by the House T&I Committee. That went up to 64,493 jobs in June and 74,460 in July. (see July 30 AASHTO Journal story)

"These numbers reinforce what the committee has been saying for more than a year and what the Congressional Budget Office reported earlier this week," said House T&I Committee Chairman James Oberstar, D-Minnesota. "The economic stimulus provided by the recovery act has created millions of jobs and is helping to put the nation back on the road to economic growth."

Charts prepared by AASHTO showing the monthly increases in recovery-funded highway and transit construction jobs since March are available at tinyurl.com/ARRAjobs0710. AASHTO's website on state transportation departments' implementation of the recovery act is available at recovery.transportation.org.