Stimulus project spending by the Department of Transportation reached $11.393 billion as of April 23, up $926 million from the end of March.

The DOT will spend $48 billion under the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, of which nearly $27 billion will be for highway and bridge projects. Most of that money is already allocated, so construction projects can proceed.

Actual payouts by the department come after states have submitted documentation for work they have completed, so at any one time thousands of projects are under way around the country while the DOT reimbursements are still pending.

Other DOT-administered stimulus funds have gone into airport runways and transit systems, while grants were recently awarded for dozens of freight and passenger rail system improvements, intermodal projects and port upgrades.

Separate transportation spending under ARRA is handled by other agencies, including the Army Corps of Engineers for barge infrastructure and the Coast Guard for rail bridges over navigable waterways.

Across all government agencies, stimulus disbursements through April 23 reached $222 billion, up $3 billion in the past week, on top of more than $100 billion in tax cuts that have taken effect so far.

Source: JOC