Inflation is driving up the cost of road projects in Georgia, with some project bids more than 40% higher than projected.
As a result, Georgia Department of Transportation officials have rejected some high bids and deferred resurfacing projects for the last six months.
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The Georgia Department of Transportation said it awarded seven projects valued at more than $104.7 million in August.
However, the awards list the agency provided indicates that the state only awarded about $12.1 million in projects. A GDOT spokesman said officials deferred a pair of widening and reconstruction projects worth roughly $93 million and expect to award them later.
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Tennessee plans to spend $102 million of its $3.7 billion American Rescue Plan allocation on a learning loss intervention program for Tennessee students.
The program — including summer learning camps, after-school learning mini-camps, and learning loss bridge camps — was approved in 2021 by Tennessee’s Legislature at a cost of $36 million per year, including a mix of state and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds.
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Despite traffic on state highways, roads and bridges decreasing significantly in 2020, the Ohio Department of Transportation expects to spend nearly $2 billion in the next year on nearly 1,000 projects.
Traffic volume fell by 15.5% during the past year as the COVID-19 pandemic limited road travel, ODOT said. More people worked from home. Stay-at-home health orders, capacity limits, business closures and statewide curfews also reigned in optional travel.
Despite the limited driving, which also leads to less fuel consumption and less taxpayer money available, ODOT pointed to a 2019 gas tax increase, along with budget cuts, for staving off what could have billon a $3 billion swing in taxpayer money for the department.
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