Jobs Act pushes billions for highway and infrastructure construction jobs

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is hoping that the quick approval of President Barack Obama’s Jobs Act will help pump billions of dollars into the country’s infrastructure and create thousands of construction jobs.

Speaking at a United Parcel Service facility in Kentucky recently, Geithner said the bill includes $140 billion in infrastructure spending and aid to states to improve roads, bridges and other transportation.

Geithner’s visit came as a number of transportation officials called on the administration to cut red tape in order to speed up regional infrastructure development.

John Horsely, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, told Reuters the sector may not see relief from the Jobs Act immediately because of burdensome regulations.

“We are very interested in any relief the president and his agencies can give us on the red tape that usually ties our projects up for years,” John Horsely, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, told Reuters. “I’ve characterized the process we’ve been going through as one step forward, two steps back.”

Approximately 50 transportation projects could be deemed high priority by the federal government, which could help create tens of thousands of immediate jobs.