Title: Employment Impacts of ARRA Funding on TxDOT Projects
Abstract: The stimulus package signed by President Obama on March 6, 2009 is known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). This act allocated $48.1 billion to transportation of which $27.5 billion was for highway projects. Texas was allotted the second highest distribution of $2.2 billion and by September 1, 2009, 298 projects were authorized and $1.2 billion obligated. The full allocation was taken up by the April 2010 deadline. State agencies like TxDOT who receive ARRA funds must report, on a monthly basis, various data on each project in the ARRA program including staff numbers, hours worked and payroll. Construction labor, however, is only one part of the full economic impact of highway investment. The direct jobs, such as those reported by the main contractor and the subs, can be smaller than those working in the indirect sector—material suppliers, transportation companies, and so forth. And when those in the direct and indirect sectors are employed, they spend money in a variety of ways to create induced impacts. This report documents research that explores labor usage on TxDOT ARRA construction projects, including statistical analyses and interviews with contractors and suppliers. It also includes an analysis of the differences observed in labor, material, and equipment costs on ARRA projects compared to ‘normal’ project costs.
Publication Year: 2010
Publication Date: 2010-10-01
Language: en
Type: article
Access and Citation
AI Researcher Chatbot
Get quick answers to your questions about the article from our AI researcher chatbot