In 2008 the Federal Government began work on an economic stimulus package that would provide substantial investments into the Nation’s transportation system.  On February 17, 2009 President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) into law, authorizing the infusion of about $36 billion for highway, bridge, and transit projects.  These federal funds will be allocated to State Departments of Transportation, Transportation Management Areas (TMAs), and Transit Agencies.  The state of Kansas received $348 million for road and bridge projects and $30 million for transit.

So what does this mean for the WAMPO Region?  WAMPO was authorized to program $16,390,703 worth of ARRA funds for regional transportation projects.  These funds were required to be obligated by March 2010.  All funds  for the WAMPO region have been obligated.    

The following outlines the steps WAMPO took to ensure that the ARRA funds were spent wisely and within the required timeframe timeframe.

• March 10, 2009:  The Transportation Policy Body (TPB), at their regular meeting, decided on project criteria and directed staff to open a Request for Projects to allow local jurisdiction to apply for the ARRA funds.
• March 11, 2009 to March 17, 2009:  WAMPO opened a Request for Projects to allow local jurisdiction to apply for the ARRA funds.
• March 23, 2009:  Thee Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), at their regular meeting, prioritized the submitted project applications and created an ARRA Project List, a Contingency List, and a Second Contingency List.  The TAC recommended approval of these three lists to the TPB. 
• April 14, 2009:  The TPB approved the ARRA Project List, the Contingency List, and the Second Contingency List. 
  TPB Approved ARRA Project Lists

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

To view the entire American Recovery and Reinvestment Act or for additional information about the bill, please click on the following links. 

The Federal Government Recovery website
http://www.recovery.gov/ 

The Kansas Department of Transportation website
http://www.ksdot.org/EconomicStimulus.asp

The Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations website
http://www.ampo.org/


The WAMPO 2030 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP)
http://www.wampoks.org/Publications/longrangetransportationplan.htm

The WAMPO Transportation Improvement Program
http://www.wampoks.org/Publications/Transportation+Improvement+Program.htm

If you have any questions regarding the above information please contact Kimberly Spielman at (316) 352-4860 or email at kspielman@wichita.gov.