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Economic Stimulus Package: what it means for ENC
New Bern, NC – Many eastern North Carolinians are wondering how the state's 6.1 billion dollars in stimulus money will be spent. According to the NC House and Senate, $1.4 billion is being used to patch the state budget deficit, $1.2 billion is allocated for schools and an additional $673 million is used for special education and schools with large numbers of poor students. $2.4 billion will boost Medicaid, and $70.6 million will be used for clean-water projects. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act appropriated $736 million dollars to build highways and bridges in North Carolina. Gov. Beverly Perdue announced transportation projects throughout North Carolina that will soon get under way using $466 million of federal funding. Chrissy Pearson, the press secretary for Perdue, says the governor has taken the necessary steps to make sure the money is used responsibly.
She has opened an office of Economic Stimulus and Recovery in Raleigh. She has made sure that the director of that office is ready to go, ready to move on those projects as soon as we have the money.
The new federal law requires states to assign the first half of transportation stimulus money within 120 days of receipt, and the remaining half to projects within a year.
And overall, the state stands to benefit greatly from new infrastructure projects, new road projects, and plenty of ways to put that money to good use.
Pearson says Perdue and the North Carolina Department of Transportation have identified seventy projects as "shovel ready."
Which projects are ready to go, which ones stand on their own merit and are worthy of receiving this money. And some of the ways to determine whether a project is the right fit for using this money is making sure that project has a significant economic development aspect, that it's creating jobs, and that it's in areas where it can help the most people.
It was announced Feb. 24th an extension of the C.F. Harvey Parkway between U.S. 258 North, and U.S. 70 will be funded with the stimulus money. The Secretary of the DOT, Gene Conti, says the $64 million project will provide improved access to the Global TransPark in Lenoir County.
I think it's a great economic connector. And the Spirit project, which is at the Global TransPark is going to create a thousand plus jobs there in the next few years. We wanted to make sure they have the ability to get their people and their goods in and out of that area.
Conti says the bidding is scheduled for May, and construction will take place soon after. The four-mile extension is expected to take 30 to 36 months to complete. Other counties have started identifying projects. According to the DOT, A stretch of I-40 in Sampson and Duplin County will receive stimulus money for a milling and resurfacing project with an estimated cost of $21 million dollars.
Other counties are seeking stimulus money for under funded areas. Pitt County has requested funding for projects in areas like law enforcement, food stamps, health and education. County Manager Scott Elliott says Pitt submitted nearly $81 million dollars in projects covering a sewer upgrade to Pactolus and Stokes schools. Also, the Department of Housing and Urban Development will be able to fund a grant for lead-based paint testing and its elimination in revitalization and renovation programs. ---- Pamlico County is seeking 4 million dollars, Manager Tim Buck says the money will be used for improvements to its water system, which servers 6,000 people.
We do have an additional pressure improvement in the messic area and that is an approximately 150 thousand dollars that we've initiated, or are applying for. we also are applying for meter replacements, and project is approximately 2 million.
Buck says it only took the Board of Commissioners 18 min. to hear information and give their approval for the county's share of the stimulus money. Other transportation projects in eastern North Carolina include a busy intersection of highways 70 and 24 in Carteret County. The project is considered "shovel ready" but is not included in the list of highway projects slated for funding with federal stimulus money. Martin county will receive $12.7 million dollars from the state to repave U.S. Highway 64. For more information on North Carolina's economic recovery plan, visit ncrecovery.gov.