The Daily Citizen, Dalton, GA

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June 30, 2009

Construction on first Georgia stimulus transportation project to begin

Submitted by the governor's office

HAPEVILLE — Governor Sonny Perdue, Deputy U.S. Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari and Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Vance Smith, Jr., today officially launched work on Georgia’s first American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) highway stimulus project. The $940,000 resurfacing project of four miles of U.S. Highway 19/State Route 3 is the first of hundreds of ARRA projects being awarded in Georgia this year to create and sustain jobs.

“Investments in our transportation network provide sustained economic opportunities for Georgia,” Governor Perdue said. “We have ensured that projects funded by the stimulus package are not only shovel-ready, but will also relieve congestion or repair roads with some of the state’s lowest pavement ratings.”

“The Recovery Act is making a real difference for families and their communities throughout the United States, and Georgia is no exception,” said Dep. Secretary Porcari. “I want to commend Georgia state officials for making a conscious choice to invest in smaller projects in many counties around the state – saving as many jobs as possible and making life better for folks who live and work in these communities. Your good stewardship of federal recovery dollars means that projects like this will finally get the attention they deserve, while retaining good-paying jobs in a very tough economy.”

Nationwide, some $48 billion in stimulus investments are being made in transportation infrastructure, including highways, public transit, high speed rail and aviation. Georgia DOT has created a Web page (www.dot.ga.gov/gastimulus) devoted to stimulus activities to provide specific program information and promote transparency of the process.

The US 19/SR3 resurfacing work will be performed by C.W. Matthews Contracting Co., Inc., of Marietta. The company says this and other stimulus funded projects will enable it to retain over 250 current Georgia employees that would have otherwise been without employment due to a lack of work. Additional work will go to numerous suppliers and subcontractors. This is one of several Georgia stimulus projects awarded in late May and ready to begin actual construction. Work will be completed mostly during evening hours.

“This may seem a relatively small project,” Commissioner Smith noted, “but I assure you it is very significant to the City of Hapeville, to the 17,000 residents of Fulton and Clayton counties who drive this road each day, and especially to the construction workers on this project who now have a job to go to.”

To-date, a total of 63 highway system stimulus projects, valued at a combined $119 million, have been awarded; and another 43, worth an estimated $250 million, will be acted on within a few weeks to complete Phase One of Georgia DOT’s ARRA implementation. In August, the Department, pending certification by Governor Perdue, will begin awarding some $370 million in Phase Two projects, a process expected to continue through the fall.

Georgia DOT is responsible for 70 percent of Georgia’s $932 million in highway system ARRA funds. The remaining 30 percent is divided among the state’s 15 Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) and designated rural areas. The MPOs, in conjunction with the Department, are funding projects from these respective allocations. The state also received $144 million in stimulus funds for public transit and Georgia DOT has awarded related local grants totaling approximately $39 million.

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