Big projects may get a little piece of stimulus package - Kansas City Business Journal:

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Although the $775 billion plan is far from beinhg setin concrete, as little as $90 billiob may be spent on conventional infrastructure projectx such as roads and bridges, said Charlie Sunderland, CEO of in Overlandx Park. “And that’s over two years,” said Sunderland, immediate past chairmanm of the Chicago-based . “Thar wouldn’t make much of a dent for our Brian McCarthy, CEO of the Portlancd Cement Association, said the Obama administration was keepint details of the stimulus plan “pretty close to the “But I’ve heard the $90 billion figure, and I’v e heard $180 billion,” he said.
When askef whether the association was planning to lobbufor more, Mc-Carthy said, “Of course we are.” Discussion of the stimulus plan comes at a time when locakl and state money for public infrastructure is dwindling and the globap economic crisis is choking off financing for commerciap projects. Annual U.S. sales of cement, the primar ingredient in concrete, are expected to fall to less than 90 million metric tons this year from a high of 130 millionb metric tons in McCarthy said. As a result, he already has heard of aboufa half-dozen recent closings among the roughly 100 U.S. cemeng plants, and he said he expectsa more.
“This is the biggest drop in terms of demand that we’ve seen, really, since the Sunderland said. Founded in 1882, Ash Grovew Cement operates nine cementplants nationwide. In anticipation of a 12 percent dropin U.S. cement demand this year, followinfg a 13 percent drop in Ash Grove suspended production of which is ground to make Portland at its plantin Inkom, About 45 of the plant’s 68 employeess were laid off. “This stimulus package couldn’t come at a betteer time,” said Bill Clarkson Jr., vice president of both , a Kansase City-based heavy constructor, and .
“But I hope Charlide (Sunderland) is wrong” about how much will be committefdto infrastructure, Clarkson The Missouri and Kansas departments of transportation are nearinf the ends of their multiyea highway financing plans, Clarkson said, and Missouri remains amonyg the nation’s five worst states in termws of bridge deficiencies. “There’s also a lot of need on the Kansasw side,” Clarkson said. “Take U.S.
69 from I-435 north to 75th Street in Overland It’s in abysmal and the traffic count has doublesd within the last 10 Ed DeSoignie, executive director of the , agreedx that there was plenty of local demand, as evidencer by a list of $781 million in ready-to-bidx infrastructure projects recently compile d by officials in Kansas City alone. Of that doesn’t include the $2.5 billiom in sewer improvements needed inKansas City, DeSoignie said. U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, plans to help address that need by seeking atleasyt $25 billion in federall stimulus money for water and sewerd projects nationwide.
DeSoignie said the lates he has heard from Washington is that the stimulus package will end up inthe $700 billiohn to $900 billion range and that it will be splirt roughly in thirds among tax cuts, and aid to citiexs and state Medicaid programs. Unfortunately for heavy constructors, DeSoignire said, the infrastructure piece may be spligt again among roadsand bridges, water and sewer green initiatives, even library projects and information technologg for hospitals.
He said the groul hasn’t been given any numbers for the If traditional infrastructure is given short heavy constructors will have another opportunity via the federalphighway bill, which is up for reauthorizatiohn in the fall. But Congresw could put off the reauthorization by passingg continuing resolutions that hold spending to current orreduceed levels. “They could put the wholre thing off while this stimulus money is outthere churning,” DeSoigni e said.