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$129 Million Saved by US National Park Service Will Fund 30 More Projects
Wednesday, 06 Mar, 2010
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Arcadia National Park
The National Park Service (NPS) has announced that favorable pricing on its American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) large construction projects has resulted in savings of over 20 percent totaling approximately $129 million. The Service will use this money to fund an additional 30 high priority projects across the country putting additional people to work in ways that will leave a permanent legacy for US national parks through critical facility improvements, infrastructure repairs, and energy efficiency enhancements.
“We are extremely excited to have the opportunity to do so much more with our Recovery Act funding than we originally planned. Certainly the market dynamics play a significant role in the pricing we’re seeing, but I also credit the execution and hard work of our team. These projects represent critical priorities for us that will also benefit the economy and create jobs in the near term,” said Jon Jarvis, director of the National Park Service.
The list of newly funded construction projects includes:
- The transformation of a former military facility into an education and research campus at Acadia National Park. The project will reconfigure roads, remodel three buildings into classrooms and labs and complete the majority of work converting the base to the Schoodic Educational and Research Center.
- The installation of photovoltaic cells on Alcatraz Island in Golden Gate National Recreation Area to replace the existing diesel generated power on the island.
- The rehabilitation of the 138–year-old Catoctin Aqueduct, part of C & O Canal National Historic Park. The project will restore two missing arches of what was once called the “Most Beautiful Aqueduct” on the canal, replace missing handrail sections and generally improve its condition and lifespan.
The NPS is also announcing the replacement of 26 projects with 36 additional projects totaling $9.3 million. Projects are being replaced for various reasons, such as prior completion with non-ARRA funds or because they cannot be completed within the Recovery Act timeframe. The NPS selected the replacement projects from existing contingency lists using established merit-based criteria for expediency of implementation, job creation potential and ability to address high-priority mission needs.
The NPS established and followed a formal but efficient process for making timely decisions on project funding reallocations and project substitutions to ensure they are supporting the ARRA goals of quickly stimulating the economy and creating jobs. Projects that are being replaced will remain priorities for the NPS, so will likely be completed with other funding in future years.
The current list of the NPS ARRA projects can be found at the following
link:
recovery.doi.gov/press/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/nps_arra-project-list_march_2010.pdf
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided $3 billion to the Department of the Interior. Of that amount, $750 million went to the NPS to fund job-creating investments in critical infrastructure and facilities, trail restoration, abandoned mine remediation, and energy efficiency and renewable energy.
Valere Tjolle
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