AASHTO Journal, 21 March 2014
Officials at the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department announced Wednesday that AHTD was pulling 10 items off its planned list of highway projects for April because officials could not be certain they would have the funding to complete them while the federal Highway Trust Fund is on track to reach insolvency this summer (see related AASHTO Journal story here).
“Based on our evaluation, if we execute all contracts that are scheduled for the April letting, the department may not have adequate funds to ensure full payments to contractors during this period of reduced federal reimbursements,” said AHTD Director Scott Bennett in a statement. “We are hoping that a long-term revenue solution for the federal Highway Trust Fund can be found so we in Arkansas and across the country can continue to award planned construction projects and adequately invest in our nation’s highway system.”
AHTD said it found after reviewing available state and federal funding, as well as planned projects, that there could be the possibility of running out of money if full and timely reimbursements were not made to the state. The suspended projects, which amount to $60 million in bid letting across several counties, include work such as highway rehabilitation and widening, bridge replacements, traffic signal upgrades, and highway connections.
These projects may not be the only ones suspended, AHTD officials said. The department plans to evaluate scheduled projects that are tapped to receive federal funding “prior to each department letting until Congress acts to correct the funding shortfall.” Currently, AHTD has letting dates scheduled for April, June, July, September, November, and December.