The U.S. DOT is furloughing nearly 2,000 employees without pay Monday, March 1, and temporarily shutting down highway reimbursements to states worth hundreds of millions of dollars, national anti-drunk driving efforts and multi-million dollar construction projects across the country.
The action comes as a result of Kentucky Sen. Jim Bunning’s decision to block key legislation that would have extended several critical priorities for middle class families. That legislation covered tax credits for COBRA health coverage, unemployment insurance for 400,000 people, as well as the short-term extension of the Highway Trust Fund.
“As American families are struggling in tough economic times, I am keenly disappointed that political games are putting a stop to important construction projects around the country,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “This means that construction workers will be sent home from job sites because federal inspectors must be furloughed.”
Because of the shutdown, federal inspectors will be removed from critical construction projects, forcing work to come to a halt on federal lands. Projects span the country, including the $36 million replacement of the Humpback Bridge on the George Washington Parkway in Virginia, $15 million in bridge construction and stream rehabilitation in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho, and the $8 million resurfacing of the Natchez Trace Parkway in Mississippi.
At the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the furloughs will disrupt safety programs that operate in partnership with the states and advocacy groups, such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). The programs are designed to reduce traffic injuries and fatalities totaling 37,000 a year in areas including distracted driving, child passenger safety and motorcycle safety. Activities affected include national media and enforcement campaigns such as “Click It or Ticket,” and “Drunk Driving: Over the Limit. Under Arrest.”
Federal Lands Road Construction Affected By Furlough:
Alaska
Tongass National Forest road clean up
$1,100,000
Arkansas
East Fly Gap and Gunner Pool Roads landslides restoration
$923,000
California
Golden Gate National Recreation Area road construction
$8,700,000
District of Columbia
9th Street Bridge replacement
$50,000,000
Idaho
Salmon River Road Nez Perce National Forest construction
$20,133,000
Little Salmon River Bridge Nez Perce National Forest intersection
$3,800,000
Illinois
McRraven Road reconstruction
$1,100,000
Maryland
Falls Park entrance road construction
$3,100,000
Mississippi
Natchez Trace Parkway resurfacing
$8,100,000
Natchez Trace Parkway trail construction (Ridgeland County)
$5,600,000
Mississippi
Vicksburg National Military Park road rehabilitation and resurfacing
$5,000,000
New Mexico
Carlsbad Caverns National Monument roadway rehabilitation
$9,000,000
North Carolina
Newfound Gap road rehabilitation
$9,900,000
Blue Ridge Parkway reconstruction and resurfacing
$6,000,000
Goshen Creek Bridge replacement
$3,000,000
Ohio
Fitzwater Road bridges replacement
$4,400,000
Oregon
Beaver Creek Road Ochoco National Forest
$6,200,000
South Carolina
Ft. Sumter Historic Site entrance road and parking area rehabilitation
$262,000
Tennessee
Cades Cove Loop Road rehabilitation
$6,700,000
Tennessee
Shilo National Park tour roads and parking area rehabilitation
$3,000,000
Tennessee
Catossa Wildlife Management Area bridge replacement
$1,000,000
Utah
Bear River Access Road
$13,800,000
Virginia/D.C.
George Washington Parkway Humpback Bridge replacement
$36,000,000
Virginia
Blue Ridge Parkway reconstruction and resurfacing
$12,000,000
Petersburg Park tour road relocation
$1,500,000
Puerto Rico
Vieques National Wildlife Refuge road and bridge reconstruction
$6,000,000
U.S. Virgin Islands
Christiansted Bypass construction
$14,000,000
Centerline Road reconstruction
$9,000,000
St. John roundabout construction
$7,200,000
Long Bay Road reconstruction
$5,500,000
North Shore Road reconstruction
$448,000
