Stimulus funds put hard hats to work!

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10642194

Published Thursday May 28, 2009
Stimulus funds put hard hats to work
BY JOSEPH MORTON
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Earth-moving equipment rumbles at Eppley Airfield. Workers install new windows in public housing units in Blair.

And Sioux County, Iowa, prepares to replace a deteriorating wooden bridge with a sturdy concrete structure.

Federal economic stimulus funds approved earlier this year have begun showing up in the Midlands as hard hats and shovels.

President Barack Obama on Wednesday marked the 100th day since he signed the stimulus bill by highlighting 100 projects that were able to burst out of the gate.

One of those involves reconstructing the longest of Eppley's three runways. More than 50 years old, it's the runway used most frequently by large commercial airlines.

Eppley officials said the project already had been drawn up and was ready to go when the stimulus funds became available. The stimulus money allows more of the project to be done upfront, they said, and covers $4.2 million of the project's $24 million total cost.

FULL story at link.