VA Releases List of $1.3 Billion in Stimulus Projects

The Dept. of Veterans Affairs has released its list of about 1,000 projects, totaling nearly $1.3 billion, that it plans to carry out using funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The vast majority of the projects on VA's list, dated April 2 and 3, are small, with many of them pegged at less than $1 million each.

Under the economic-stimulus statute, the VA funds are available until Sept. 30, 2010.

The projects are in three categories, the largest of which is $1.086 billion for 965 "non-recurring maintenance" and energy-related projects at VA facilities around the country. Energy-related projects, including heating ventilation and air conditioning upgrades, renewable-energy installations and metering, account for $399.1 million of that total. Interior renovations is another large item, with 276 projects, totaling $299.5 million.

In addition, the stimulus measure gives VA $150.9 million for construction or expansion of extended-care facilities. VA lists 49 extended-care projects. The largest are: an $18.7-million expansion in Tucson; $17.1 for an expansion at a Spring City, Pa., facility; and a $12.6-million project in Ogden, Utah.

The third VA category is $50 million for project at national cemeteries. Work on roads, paving and cemetery grounds account for $8.4million of that VA's stimulus web page lists expenditure plans and a state-by-state breakdown of the projects for each of the three categories.

Tom Ichniowski has been writing about the federal government as ENR’s Washington Bureau Chief since the George H.W. Bush administration, and he has covered at least five major highway bills. A recognized expert on government policy on infrastructure and regulation, Tom is also a Baltimore native and Orioles fan who grew up rooting for Brooks and Frank Robinson. He is a graduate of Columbia College and Columbia’s graduate school of journalism, where he once used “unrelentless” in a headline.

Post a comment to this article

Discover innovative construction approaches making it possible to complete ultra-challenging projects like South Fork Wind, the first-ever commercial-scale offshore windfarm and substation in the US. Learn how Kiewit’s ground-breaking approaches address the distinctive demands of offshore construction and other tough environments.