Anyone who lives in, near, or drives through Chicago will soon get an eyeful (and probably have plenty of time sitting in construction traffic from which to watch) how some of the federal stimulus money is getting spent.
Typically Chicago resurfaces about 35 miles of streets a year, though Chicago DOT says only a few miles were repaved in 2007 and 2008 because state funding basically dried up. But through 2010, largely because of stimulus dollars, Chicago will reconstruct from the subbase up four sections of major roads and resurface another 100 or so miles of some of the worst streets in the city. And drivers in Oak Park, IL, will finally notice construction on a section of roadway that has begged for repair for years.
Whether or not you support the stimulus, this work is a good thing. New and repaired roads are important for communities, they're good for drivers and driver safety, they're good for the paving industry -- and ultimately good for the pavement maintenance industry.
There's no question the infrastructure of the country has to be rehabilitated, and that means roads have to be repaired before they are too far gone. You know, "proper maintenance in a timely manner." If the stimulus gets that done it will have a lasting impact on the infrastructure while hopefully providing a long-lasting boost to paving and pavement maintenance contractors.
What kind of work, stimulus-generated or not, is going on in your area? How does that affect the work available to your company? Are you getting more requests for bids? Are you encountering fewer competitors? Are big pavers moving away from parking lot work?
Let us know.
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