More than $50 million worth of construction project contracts has been doled-out by the state’s Department of Transportation. This latest round of funding includes $29 million from the federal stimulus package (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act).

State transportation commissioner Vance Smith says the $50 million represents a blend of Phase Two of the stimulus program, as well as the state’s regularly-funded fiscal 2010 program.

However, in a state DOT press release, Smith warns that funding for future transportation projects in Georgia remains threatened by declining state motor fuel tax collections. Smith projects a continued drop in those receipts by as much as 20%. He says Georgia’s allotment of federal stimulus money should be fully committed by January.

The DOT says construction on the just-awarded projects should begin in October. The work will include construction of new auxillary lanes on a portion of U.S. Highway 23/State Route 87 in Bibb County ;bridge replacements in Coffee, Cook, and Colquitt counties ; resurfacing work on several highways throughout the state, including on Interstate 85 in northeast Georgia.

Tags: Georgia, economy, Vance Smith, Department of Transportation, construction