$10 Million Transportation Bonding Plan Approved
MONTPELIER - A special committee of the Vermont Legislature May 21 unanimously approved a $10 million transportation bonding plan that is the first phase of a five-year, $80 million transportation plan Governor Douglas presented in his economic stimulus package.
The bonding approval not only adds $10 million in state funds to the Vermont Agency of Transportation's fiscal year 2009 budget, but also allows the Agency to leverage an additional $4 million in federal dollars, raising the total amount of the transportation stimulus package to $14 million.
The Agency plans to put $12 million to work immediately on paving and bridge projects that will take place this spring, summer and fall. The remaining $2 million will be used to expedite engineering so additional bridge repairs can happen as quickly as 2009.
"No other part of state government has a more direct affect on job creation than transportation," said Agency of Transportation Secretary Neale Lunderville. "For every $1 million spent constructing or rehabilitating a piece of transportation infrastructure, 47 jobs are created."
This year's bonding package is the first of what is planned to be a five-year, $80 million stimulus initiative designed to focus more resources on improving Vermont's aging transportation infrastructure.
This year's bonding package includes 24 miles of new paving as well as money to work on 26 bridges, including seven bridges owned by various Vermont cities and towns. Bridge work ranges from complete replacement or rehabilitation to various preventive maintenance activities like membrane and joint replacement or rehabilitation designed to extend a bridge's life by 10-to-20 years.
"Preventive maintenance is key to extending the lifespan of our bridges," Lunderville said. "For every $1 we spend today to preserve or maintain a bridge, we save $10 down the road because we do not have to rehabilitate or replace it."