States Look to Claim Part of $69 Billion in Infrastructure Funds

"The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials identified 9,500 "ready-to-go" highway, bridge, transit, port, rail and aviation projects that it says will create hundreds of thousands of jobs - much like the list of "shovel-ready" projects that the association pushed in the run-up to the $787 billion stimulus bill Mr. Obama signed in February.

Last time, state officials requested $64 billion in infrastructure spending but were allotted $34.3 billion, about 4 percent of the $787 billion.

In the nine months since the last stimulus went into effect, work has begun on 7,886 projects totaling $18.6 billion, about 54 percent of the total funds available, according to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee."