In New York City, $1 billion in infrastructure projects that were slated to be completed in four years are now expected to be completed in less than half the time, Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently announced.
The projects include repairs and upgrades to 100 school buildings, 300 miles of road resurfacing, road and bridge repairs, and development of waterfront infrastructure. They are all expected to be completed in 20 months.
Why is now a good time to accelerate infrastructure spending? According to the city:
Expediting their start and construction timetables will allow the City to take advantage of low borrowing interest rates and construction costs, saving taxpayers more than $200 million over the life of the bonds and creating an estimated 8,000 jobs.
This year marks the largest amount of capital investment made in one year by the city since 2002. Between 2002-2012, under Mayor Bloomberg, the city has invested more than $89 billion in capital commitments, more than any other administration.
Recession? What recession?
Photo: Flickr/wwward0
