During the first week of March, the U.S. Department of Transportation successfully met an aggressive deadline to “obligate” – or commit funds to specific projects – 100 percent of their Recovery Act highway and transit formula dollars. That important milestone means that for every Recovery Act project, contracts can be bid, workers can be hired and construction can begin on projects that create jobs and drive economic growth.

In addition to the Sanford Bypass Project, some other major Recovery Act-funded projects under construction include the following:

I-4/Selmon Expressway in Tampa. Because of $105 million in Recovery Act funds, construction began earlier this month on the $653 million I-4/Selmon Expressway Crosstown Connector in Tampa. The project will provide direct access for the more than 12,000 commercial trucks that travel through downtown to and from the Port of Tampa every day.

DART Orange Line in Dallas. Recovery Act funds totaling $61.2 million are helping Dallas Area Rapid Transit construct the 14-mile Orange Line, which will eventually link Downtown Dallas and the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

Nelsonville Bypass in Southeast Ohio. Ohio is constructing a new, 8.5 mile, four-lane highway to divert freight traffic from U.S. 33, which bottlenecks in the town of Nelsonville. Recovery Act funds totaling $138 million are helping fund this final upgrade of the U.S. 33 corridor in southeast Ohio that will take traffic off local roads, which carry 1,700 trucks a day on one of the busiest truck routes in the state.

Merritt Parkway, near Fairfield, Conn. Recovery Act funds in the amount of $67 million are improving safety for the estimated 60,000 daily drivers who use the Merritt Parkway by widening shoulders and installing or updating guard rails along 9.3 miles of one of the East Coast’s most congested commuter routes.

South Westnedge Avenue Interchange on I-94 near Kalamazoo, Mich. Last fall, the Recovery Act fully funded this $47.7 million project to reconstruct the interchange and ease traffic congestion along this key Midwest corridor that serves an estimated 87,000 drivers daily. One additional lane will be added in each direction to widen the road from four lanes to six, allowing cars and trucks to move through Kalamazoo more safely and easily.