By James Call
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wfsu/local-wfsu-981746.mp3
Tallahassee, FL – The state of Florida is accelerating its road building plan. The transportation department is advancing more than $1 billion worth of projects that had been slated to start as much as five years down the road. James Call reports, the increased spending is expected to create more than 35 thousand jobs in an industry devastated by the recession.
"I'd say the average road builder in Florida has laid off 40-percent of his workforce."
Bob Burleson is president of the Florida Transportation Builders Association. The 78-year-old group lobbies the Legislature on behalf of hundreds of members. Burleson estimates more than 30 thousand road construction workers in Florida are out of work. He said more layoffs were expected until the state transportation department announced it would spend an additional $ 1. 2 billion. Burleson says in the past four years money for road projects simply dried up.
"And local governments I'm not sure. I don't know numbers but I suspect the amount of bids they put out is probably down 50 percent. And then private civil construction, you know subdivision development and the type of thing that road builders would be involved in, is almost nil. So there is a big pool of people looking for a lot less work so prices are down."
And Florida intends to capitalize on it. Transportation Secretary Ananth Prassad says bids are coming in as much as 25-percent lower than expected and that is freeing up money for more projects.
"The thing is we are in a perfect environment where-- not a perfect environment because we need the economy to do much better-- we're in a buyer's market. There is significant capacity in the private sector a lot of people, you know, are hanging on keeping on jobs with the hope that the economy will turn around. We are getting bids at a very low price. So this is a way to leverage that and create and sustain jobs in the sector that has been hardest hit in Florida and nationally for that matter. But we are building infrastructure projects that are needed."
Among the projects being moved up is a truck bypass around Quincy in Gadsden County, work on Interstate 75 in Lee County, I-95 in Brevard County, the Veterans Expressway in Hillsborough and the Byway in Pinellas. Republican State Senator Mike Fasano of Pasco County is past chair of the Senate Transportation Committee and called the plan an innovative idea to help Florida's economy.
"It will also create jobs. These are jobs that will be created immediately not five ten years down the road. Put people back to work and at the same time using tax dollars at the best use and taking care of some of our infrastructure situation throughout the Tampa Bay area. It is going to help a lot."
The job creation number of 35 thousand for an increased spending of $1.2 billion dollars comes from a federal formula accepted by Burleson the road builder and Prassad the transportation secretary. The calculation, Prassad explained, includes not only construction workers but also job creation in other sectors stimulated by the road projects.
"It's not just the jobs on the project building it. There are fabrication people; you have mines, obviously mine aggregate. You have liquid asphalt that comes from a refinery. That sustains jobs. You have guardrails which is steel. There are fabrication plants for that. Concrete batch plants all the surrounding. So that much work takes direct and indirect employment to support that. And I'm not seeing anything to contradict that a billion dollars don't support 30-thousand jobs."
The builders association's Burleson expects the new jobs to begin appearing around the New Year. He says Prassad's announcement of accelerating projects will have at least two positive effects on an industry laid low by the recession, one companies don't have to worry about any projects being cancelled.
"We will have a steady stream of work until this comes on board. And then secondly companies that were contemplating laying off some people because of the outlook will hold onto those people in the hope they will get some of that work."
Burleson, who has 40 years of road building experience says he has never seen it like this and is hoping a billion dollars in unexpected spending will get the industry back to work.