MANKATO — Local transportation officials say they could construct dozens of projects in south-central Minnesota next summer if the federal government approves an economic stimulus bill focused on road, bridge and other infrastructure improvements.

The work could range from resurfacing city streets to replacing sagging guardrails on state highways, and it could put hundreds of construction workers on the job next spring and summer, say city, county and state officials. All that’s needed is Congress and the president approving a large spending bill.

While there’s a slight chance a bill could be passed during the lame duck congressional session that will resume Dec. 8, the stimulus bill is more likely to come in January after the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama and the swearing-in of the increasingly strong Democratic majority in Congress.

Obama in a press conference last week said an economic stimulus bill is a top priority for his first days in office starting Jan. 20, and he made clear that he prefers job-creating construction projects over rebate checks.

“We are going to have to make sure we are investing in roads, bridges, other infrastructure,” Obama said, “investment that lays the groundwork for long-term economic growth.”

The House passed an infrastructure bill in September, but President Bush was not supportive of the idea and the Senate didn’t take up the bill. The House proposal topped $26 billion, and there’s speculation that the Obama plan might be several times larger.

Readying projects


“I think this is exciting,” said state Rep. Terry Morrow, a member of the Minnesota House Transportation Committee. “And if the federal government decides to make this infrastructure investment, Minnesota’s going to be ready to roll.”

So are North Mankato, Blue Earth County and many other local governments — hoping that the federal money will be distributed widely.

The North Mankato City Council has included $525,000 in its 2009 budget for reconstruction of portions of Lee Boulevard and Belgrade Avenue in case they might be eligible for a portion of the federal money. Without the stimulus dollars, the projects would be pushed off to a future year.

In Blue Earth County, Public Works Director Al Forsberg has identified $2.85 million in projects that could begin early this summer and be completed by the end of the construction season. They include replacing a pair of deteriorated bridges in two townships and reconstruction of County Road 26 between County Road 12 and Madison Lake.

Forsberg said he has heard talk that 50,000 projects have been identified nationwide, suggesting the odds aren’t much better than the lottery of actually seeing a local project get done. But Forsberg’s approach is you can’t win if you don’t play.

“If you’re not in the pile, you have no chance,” he said.

Uncertain rules
Blue Earth County could easily offer $28 million in needed infrastructure projects, including bridge work ($16 million), roads ($5 million) and dam repair ($7 million), according to Forsberg. But most of those projects couldn’t be underway until late in the 2009 construction season at the earliest.

The assumption is that Obama and members of Congress will be strict about the timetable for the projects, funding only those that are ready to go to ensure that construction jobs are created quickly in the face of a dangerously weak national economy.

Potential deadlines for qualifying projects might include:

n Bids must be awarded to construction companies within 90 days of the bill becoming law.

n Work must begin within six months of the bill’s passage.

n Work must be completed by Nov. 15.

Everyone, however, is just speculating about the provisions until an actual bill is proposed, debated in Congress, passed and signed into law.

While Forsberg would argue for more leeway in the timetables, the tight deadlines would guarantee that the federal money is being converted soon into paychecks for construction workers and from there into the broader economy.

Moving fast
“One of the goals is to get the money working as soon as possible,” Morrow said. “It’s good for the construction industry, which has been hurting. It’s jobs that can’t be out-sourced.”

And it’s work that needs to be done, according to supporters of the idea, who insist that infrastructure investment won’t result in make-work jobs.

Gordon Regenscheid, the maintenance manager for the Mankato-based District 7 of the Minnesota Department of Transportation, said MnDOT has been falling behind on its to-do list for nearly 20 years.

“It’s definitely not make-work since we really hadn’t received any real raise in the gas tax — which most of our funding comes from — since 1988, prior to this year,” Regenscheid said.

One estimate had District 7, made up of 13 counties in south-central and southwestern Minnesota, receiving $14 million in road projects out of a stimulus bill. Regenscheid doesn’t doubt that the district would identify plenty of good projects for that much money.

Resurfacing on Interstate 90 could consume much of that amount in itself, but the district would aim instead to spread smaller projects around the district, sharing the economic benefits throughout the region, he said.

“It’s quite a stimulus,” Regenscheid said. “We could get quite a lot of work done.”

Much of the work would be highway resurfacing, replacement of guard-rails, building up sagging gravel shoulders, repairing bridges, fixing drainage problems and replacing aging culverts.

“It gets some work done that actually needs to be done,” he said.

And average Minnesotans would benefit, not just from the trickle-down effect of seeing more construction crews working in their area, but from finally seeing a bumpy road resurfaced after years of pothole-filling, he said.

An early impact
It might seem far-fetched that a road construction bill passed in January could have an immediate effect on the economy of a cold-weather state like Minnesota. Regenscheid said most of the work, other than the guard-rail repairs, would have to wait until May.

That doesn’t mean their economic impact would be delayed that long. News of the passage of the infrastructure bill might keep construction workers in southern Minnesota rather than migrating to other parts of the state or country where projects were previously funded.

And the awarding of bids in March would cause construction companies to start calling laid-off workers, letting them know they’ll be back to work soon and there might be opportunities for an intensive work schedule with plenty of overtime, said Larry Nurre, president of Southern Minnesota Construction.

A road construction laborer earns a median of about $16 per hour in south-central Minnesota, according to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. Skilled equipment operators earn a median of $19 per hour.

News of guaranteed work in the coming months would probably get those workers opening their wallets more freely even before the 2009 paychecks are written.

“Right now, you talk to our employees, there’s a level of uncertainty,” Nurre said. “People are postponing purchases. You know, pickups, a house, appliances. ...”

SMC’s contracts were off about 30 percent in the past season, and Nurre said his company alone could do $15 million in additional work this year.

Whatever amount SMC and other companies actually get via a stimulus bill, news of a busy construction season would mean orders placed with equipment leasing firms and equipment manufacturers, he said. And when the season starts, the benefits will spread wide — motels and other short-term housing for workers, sellers of construction materials, and all the retail businesses which get a taste of the workers’ paychecks.

SMC’s ready to do the work and Regenscheid said MnDOT engineers and planners are busy making sure they’re ready to get projects out to bid if money becomes available.

“We’re going to have to hustle,” Regenscheid said. “We have really good people. I’m sure they can get it done.”