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The Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Dept. says its $1.1 billion worth of ready-to-go projects is a result of a historic �short end of the stick.� Some of the projects have been waiting for funding since 1999. Related Links: Questions Swirl On Stimulus Plan �Ready to Go� May Be The Stimulus Ticket “If we’re near the top of this list, that just means we’re near the bottom of the list of states having the money for building these projects,” says ASHTD spokesman Glenn Bolick. “We passed a $1-billion interstate rehabilitation program in 1999, then ran out of money about five

The fiscal picture has grown worse for many states, according to a survey from the National Governors Association and National Association of State Budget Officers. The report, released Dec. 15, says that because of the ailing national economy, cumulative state operating spending is projected to fall in fiscal 2009, by 0.1%, the first spending decrease since 1983. The study, NGA and NASBO's biannual Fiscal Survey of States, also says that since their 2009 fiscal year started on July 1, 31 states have reported that they face budget shortfalls totaling $29.7 billion. The report focuses on states' operating budgets, but revenue

Congress has cleared pension legislation that would provide temporary relief for single-employer and multi-employer pension funds, as well as individual retirees, who have seen their funds decline because of the downturn in the financial markets. Final congressional approval came Dec. 11 when the Senate passed the measure by unanimous consent. The House had approved the bill the previous day. Mark Ayers, president of the AFL-CIO's Building and Construction Trades Dept., said in a letter to state and local BCTD leaders that the legislation "would provide funding relief for the vast majority of building trades' multiemployer plans...which, like most pension plans,

Reaction to the broadening global economic crisis has hit much of the manufacturing and industrial process world hard and fast.

Despite the widespread economic turmoil, contractors and design firms in the global telecommunications market are optimistic.

New construction starts tumbled 9% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $461.6 billion, according to McGraw-Hill Construction.

With economic trouble buffeting many states' budgets, governors and legislators are asking Congress and the incoming Obama administration for tens of billions of dollars in federal aid in what they hope will be a new economic-stimulus bill. The states' request could include up to $136 billion for highways and other infrastructure projects. Office of Pennsylvania Gov. Rendell Rendell says funds would go for major project, not potholes. President-elect Barack Obama has said that a new stimulus measure would be his first order of business after he takes office. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has said key committee chairmen are working

Russia Tower, next in line as Europe’s tallest building, has fallen into the credit crunch. Work on the 600-meter-tall Moscow building has been shelved, according to local reports, al­though the design team has yet to be told. The project has been “delayed,” says David Klon­dar, general director at the Moscow office of Waterman International, the project’s lead struc­tural firm. The basement excavation had started and permitting was well in hand, Klon­dar says. Project architect is London-based Foster and Partners. The building's engineering team includes Chicago-based high-rise expert Hal­vorson and Partners. Photos: Peter Reina / ENR

As Americans cut back on driving, federal motor-fuels taxes and other revenue flowing into the Highway Trust Fund dropped by $3 billion in fiscal year 2008, compared with the sum collected the year before, the U.S. Dept. of Transpor­tation reports. DOT Secretary Mary Peters warns that if traffic continues downward, the trust fund may show a shortfall sooner than anticipated. Other observers share that worry. DOT said on Nov. 19 that the trust fund took in $31 billion in fiscal 2008, down 8.8% from the $34 billion collected in 2007. As income fell,  spending from the trust fund on highway

World Bank global project funding, estimated at $40 billion a year, may subsidize projects with significant ad­verse environmental and social risks due to rushed or inadequate U.S. government oversight, says a report by the U.S. Gov­ernment Accountability Office. GAO says in 2007 the U.S. Treasury Dept., the lead monitor, and other agencies were only able to review 14 of 95 World Bank funding proposals, and some possibly harmful proj­ects proceeded without U.S. government support. GAO also claims economic and political “considerations” may lead the U.S. to support project funding despite possible environmental impacts. The Treasury Dept. disputes some GAO findings