US$ 48 billion for US infrastructure

US President Obama has signed the economic stimulus plan in Denver, Colorado, that will see US$ 48 billion of the overall US$ 787 billion directed towards infrastructure spending.

US$ 27.5 billion is earmarked for highway and bridge construction and repair, US$ 8.4 billion for mass transit projects, US$ 8 billion for the construction of high speed railways, US$ 1.3 billion for Amtrak and US$ 4 billion for public housing improvements.

A further US$ 4.6 billion is allocated to the Army Corps of Engineers, while US$ 6 billion is allocated to clean drinking water projects and US$ 7.2 billion for the expansion of broadband internet service to underserved areas. An additional US$ 4.2 billion will be spent repairing and modernising Department of Defense facilities.

Beyond direct infrastructure spending, a further US$ 50 billion is earmarked for energy programs, with a focus on efficient and renewable energy.

Of the US$ 50 billion, US$ 5 billion is allocated to insulate modest-income homes, US$ 11 billion for the installation of a ‘smart electricity grid', US$ 6.4 billion to clean up nuclear weapons production sites, US$ 6 billion to subsidise loans for renewable energy projects and US$ 6.3 billion in state energy efficiency and clean energy grants.

A US$ 4.5 billion investment to make federal buildings more energy efficient and US$ 2 billion in grants for advanced batteries for electric vehicles are other projects covered by the energy programs.

In the housing sector, US$ 4 billion has been earmarked to both repair and improve the energy efficiency of public housing projects, while US$ 2 billion has been set aside for the redevelopment of foreclosed and abandoned homes. US$ 1.5 billion will be spent on homeless shelters, while a further US$ 2 billion has been allocated to settle a looming shortfall in public housing accounts.

President Obama said at the signing ceremony, "Because we know we can't build our economic future on the transportation and information networks of the past, we are remaking the American landscape with the largest new investment in our nation's infrastructure since Eisenhower built an Interstate Highway System in the 1950s

"Because of this investment, nearly 400000 men and women will go to work rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges, repairing our faulty dams and levees, bringing critical broadband connections to businesses and homes in nearly every community in America, upgrading mass transit, building high-speed rail lines that will improve travel and commerce throughout our nation."