Big projects may get a little piece of stimulus package - Kansas City Business Journal:

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Although the $775 billion plan is far from being set in as littleas $90 billio n may be spent on conventional infrastructure projectse such as roads and bridges, said Charlie Sunderland, CEO of in Overlancd Park. “And that’s over two years,” said immediate past chairman ofthe Chicago-based . “Tha t wouldn’t make much of a dent for our Brian McCarthy, CEO of the Portland Cement Association, said the Obamz administration was keeping details of the stimulus plan “prettty close to the vest.” “Butr I’ve heard the $90 billion figure, and I’ve hearx $180 billion,” he said.
When asked whether the association was planningv to lobbyfor more, Mc-Carthy said, “Ov course we are.” Discussion of the stimulusa plan comes at a time when local and statde money for public infrastructure is dwindling and the global economic crisis is choking off financingy for commercial projects. Annual U.S. sales of cement, the primaruy ingredient in concrete, are expected to fall to less than 90 millionn metric tons this year from a high of 130 millionm metric tonsin 2006, McCarthy said. As a result, he alread has heard of about a half-dozem recent closings among the roughlty100 U.S.
cement plants, and he said he expects “This is the biggest drop in termsw of demandthat we’ves seen, really, since the Depression,” Sunderland said. Founded in 1882, Ash Grovd Cement operates nine cementplants nationwide. In anticipation of a 12 percentf dropin U.S. cement demand this year, following a 13 percent drop in Ash Grove suspended productiohof clinker, which is ground to make Portlan d cement, at its plant in Inkom, About 45 of the plant’as 68 employees were laid off. “This stimulud package couldn’t come at a bettef time,” said Bill Clarkson Jr., vice president of both , a Kansasa City-based heavy constructor, and .
“Butt I hope Charlie (Sunderland) is wrong” about how much will be committedto infrastructure, Clarkson said. The Missouro and Kansas departments of transportation are nearinb the ends of their multiyear highwayfinancinhg plans, Clarkson said, and Missouri remains among the nation’s five worsty states in terms of bridge deficiencies. “There’sa also a lot of need on the Kansasd side,” Clarkson said. “Take U.S. 69 from I-435 north to 75th Street in Overland It’s in abysmal shape, and the traffic count has doublex within the last10 years.
” Ed DeSoignie, executive director of the , agreer that there was plenty of local demand, as evidenceds by a list of $781 millionj in ready-to-bid infrastructure projects recently compiled by officialas in Kansas City alone. Of course, that doesn’t includd the $2.5 billion in sewer improvements needed in Kansas City, DeSoignie said. U.S. Sen. Claire D-Mo., plans to help address that need by seeking atleast $25 billion in federal stimulus moneyu for water and sewer projects nationwide.
DeSoigniew said the latest he has heard from Washington is that the stimulus package will end up inthe $700 billion to $900 billio range and that it will be spli t roughly in thirds amonbg infrastructure, tax cuts, and aid to cities and state Medicaid Unfortunately for heavy constructors, DeSoignis said, the infrastructure piece may be split again among roadxs and bridges, water and sewer projects, green initiatives, even librart projects and information technology for hospitals.
He said the group hasn’r been given any numbers for the If traditional infrastructure is givenshort shrift, heavy constructor s will have another opportunity via the federal highwayy bill, which is up for reauthorizatiob in the fall. But Congress could put off the reauthorizatiom by passing continuing resolutions that hold spendingg to current orreduced levels. “They could put the wholes thing off while this stimulus money is outtherwe churning,” DeSoignie said.