Obama's $300B infrastructure plan

Indigo5

oblvion
reply to post by Indigo5

 

If they were going to pass the money off to state and local governments to do the job I would be all for it, but I just dont see that happening.

I agree with various things you said, but just a quick note here...there are no "federal" highway construction workers etc. These funds have to be passed off to the local state govs. Those guys with the orange vests on the highway work for the state department of transportation...not the federal government.

What I am saying is the FED contracts with highway construction companies to do the job, it was always this way.

Here are just a few of the companies that do this right now.

www.ihcquality.com...
www.manta.com...
investing.businessweek.com...

They get contracted by the government to build the interstates, it isnt DOT that goes out and does it. Dot mainly just maintains the roads and barriers signs etc...

At least where I am from, INDOT (Indiana department of transportation) is a glorified maintenance crew. They do some of the stuff on the city streets and the like, but almost all are private contractors, as DOT doesnt have the man power to just have their entire states crew building one road, when the entire states roads need grass cut, signs replaced, barriers repaired, pot holes filled etc....

I am not sure if this changed when they turned the interstates over to the states or not though. That is the reason the speed limits on the interstates are different in different states now, they all used to be the same because they were all owned by the federal government. Back in the 90's the FED turned them over to the states.

Does the FED now just give the money to the states? or do they still contract strait to highway contractors?

I honestly dont know now that I think about it. I havent really looked into it since they turned the interstates over.

I suppose I will have to look it up later on to find out. Does do one much good to make a judgement without all the facts.