"ADOT and the regional planning entities, cities, towns and counties throughout Arizona deserve our thanks for their hard work and commitment to securing these funds for our critical transportation infrastructure," said Governor Brewer. "From the very beginning we have been adamant - if Congress were to provide stimulus funds to states, this administration would work diligently to fully secure Arizona's share of stimulus dollars."
Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, Arizona received $522 million in federal funding. ADOT administers the entire amount for both state and local government projects and oversees the obligation process to ensure that all projects meet mandatory federal regulations. The entire $522 million allocation has been successfully allocated prior to the March 2 federal deadline. If the apportioned funds had not been obligated before March 2, the money that was not obligated would have been redistributed to other states by the U.S. Department of Transportation per federal regulations.
ADOT received $350 million for a total of 71 state highway and bridge projects; 15 of these projects were added from the $117 million in cost savings produced through a competitive bidding process. The agency's shovel-ready projects were first approved for federal funding in March 2009 by the State Transportation Board. Since then, ADOT has worked aggressively to get projects through the bidding process, ready for contract approval and out to construction. Currently there are 57 Recovery Act projects under construction statewide; of those, 32 have already been completed. Cities and towns received $156 million for 81 projects statewide. Another $16 million was allocated for 26 transportation enhancement projects across Arizona.
For more information on Recovery Act projects, go to www.azdot.gov/recovery.