Billions of Stimulus Funds Will Go to Transportation

The federal stimulus plan has plenty of funds for everyone, but what exactly will it bring to the world of aviation, and transportation in general? A fair amount, actually. There are billions of dollars in the stimulus earmarked for transportation.

Here are the ones that I picked out from the list. I’ve also added a little more detail from AviationNews.net. Let me know if I missed anything.

• $1.1 billion for airport improvement projects - These are for projects that can move quickly. Fifty percent of the funds are to be distributed within 120 days, and projects that can be completed within two years get priority. This means it will apply to airports that already have projects ready to go. Locally for me, a good example (I’d imagine) would be the new parking garage at Long Beach Airport that isn’t yet funded but is necessary since the current remote lot is owned by a private party and may be redeveloped.
• Within 45 days, there has to be a plan to spend $1 billion for purchasing explosives detection devices at airports. The airports facing the biggest threats get priority.
• Another couple hundred million will be spent on air traffic control band-aids. The bigger, more expensive modernization project will have to wait, but at least they can patch up some of the things that need fixing right away, like power systems and airport lighting.
• There are plenty of earmarks for other modes of transportation. Amtrak gets $1.3 billion, high speed rail gets $8 billion, highways get $29 billion, and public transit gets $8.4 billion.