No leftover road money for Washington

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced today all 55 U.S. states and territories have beaten the June 29 deadline to obligate at least half of their allocation of federal stimulus dollars.

Washington complied weeks ago but other states had been struggling to get all the necessary work done.

Some lawmakers and agency leaders in this state were watching closely to see if any state might not meet the deadline. If that occurred, federal money to those states would have been cut and made available elsewhere – like in Washington.

That won’t happen now.

“Every state not only met the 120-day deadline, they beat it,” said U.S. Secretary Ray LaHood. “This is a testament to the fact that we’re putting money out there quickly and helping to get the economy back on track.”

In a press release, federal officials said $19 billion has been obligated to fund over 5,300 highway and other transportation projects nationwide.

Washington has awarded or pledged $250.6 million which is 72.7 percent of what it needed to spend by next Monday, according to the release.