For many firms that focus on buildings, much of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s promise still hasn’t turned into contracts. Several federal agencies each have obligated less than half of their stimulus funding for building-related construction. Some projects for which contracts have been awarded haven’t seen a shovel move yet. Facing heavy workloads and looming legislative deadlines, agencies will be scrambling to get work out the door in coming months, including some huge projects.
By mid-January, the General Services Administration had obligated $2.1 billion of its $5.6 billion in ARRA funds. ARRA requires GSA to award another $2.9 billion by Sept. 30, 2010, and the rest of its ARRA money by September 2011.