Philadelphia's share of the transportation billions from economic stimulus plan
February 24, 2009
Mike Armstrong, Philadelphia Inquirer
The Philadelphia region is likely to get more than $600 million from the $48.1 billion committed to transportation projects in the new economic-stimulus program.
That's number is courtesy of the numbers crunchers at the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia.
(Remember: the entire cost of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was $787 billion.)
Of that amount, $193 million could go to SEPTA, as the Inquirer's Paul Nussbaum said in Tuesday's editions. A little context provided by the economy league: That new spending is a more than 50 percent increase over SEPTA's $368 million capital budget for its 2009 fiscal year.
In Southeastern Pennsylvania, state and local governments spend a total of nearly $700 million each year to maintain 14,450 miles of roads and 2,800 bridges. Under the economic-stimulus law, an additional $318 million would be spet on highways in the five counties.
In South Jersey, there will be $120 million available for highway projects, the economy league says.
Disappointed in how the share of federal funds will be spent? The economy league seems to be too noting the "risk of this approach is devoting scare resources to expedient, short-term fixes instead of to well-planned investments."
Yes, the spending will create construction jobs and the good old multiplier effect will send dollars bouncing around to suppliers and other vendors. "But it will do so indiscriminately and without regard to long-run economic impact," the economy league says.