The ink was barely dry on the economic stimulus bill signed by President Barack Obama when Missouri began work on the first transportation project in the country funded with the federal dollars, according to MissouriNet.

State transportation officials and construction officials gathered in Tuscumbia, Missouri yesterday to start construction on a new bridge across the Osage River.

The bridge project, approved within minutes of the President signing the federal stimulus bill, is one of four Missouri projects to be funded with federal stimulus money. Missouri Transportation Director Pete Rahn proclaimed it the first construction project anywhere in the country awarded with stimulus funds.

The 1,000-foot-long bridge spans a Missouri River tributary about 30 miles southwest of the state Capitol in Jefferson City. Built in 1933, it was closed to large trucks in 2007 because of structural concerns.

Rahn expects to receive $637 million in transportation funds through the stimulus package, with $525-million targeted for MoDOT-controlled projects. These funds don’t need to go through the regular legislative appropriations process if approved by the state Transportation Commission, which they are.

Missouri plans to begin work Tuesday on three other highway projects.

Source: MissouriNet