Roadbuilders association unveils interactive website
The American Road & Transportation Builders Association has rolled out a new interactive website full of information about the job-creation impacts of federal transportation investment on the national and state economies.
The data show the number of American jobs that could be at risk if the House and Senate fail to take action on a long-term surface transportation reauthorization bill this year. A reauthorization has not occurred since the 2005 transportation law known as "SAFETEA-LU" expired in September 2009.
ARTBA's new website provides statistics about the size and scope of each state's transportation network, the current road and bridge investment needs, commuting patterns, and the impacts on other industries that depend on the nation's transportation network.
The research was conducted by Alison Black, ARTBA's vice president of policy and senior economist, using U.S. Census Bureau "County Business Patterns" data and the U.S. Commerce Department's Regional Input/Output Modeling System.
Black found the transportation construction industry's largest economic impact is in California, where it generates or sustains more than 354,000 jobs. California is followed by New York (286,449), Texas (276,276), Florida (196,087), Pennsylvania (148,669), Illinois (129,014), Georgia (106,658), Ohio (104,310), Washington state (100,384), and New Jersey (97,036).
Money invested in transportation construction industry employment and purchases generates more than $380 billion in U.S. economic activity -- nearly 3 percent of the nation's Gross Domestic Product, according to ARTBA.
Published 4-22-2011