Louisiana people. Louisiana progress. Louisiana’s TIMED Program.
In just a few weeks, the Fiscal Year 2007 Annual Report on Louisiana’s TIMED Program will be released to the public. I am very excited to share with each of you some of the information we will be announcing. So excited that I just can’t wait for it to come back from the printer.
On any given day, more than 1,400 Louisiana residents are hard at work on the TIMED Program. From driving paving machines to designing the new highways, Louisianans are benefiting from good jobs. And Louisiana is benefiting because those 1,400 people who are paid with Louisiana tax dollars are living and spending their money within our state. Our tax dollars are building our roads, paying our local workers and staying in our economy. Just as the TIMED Program was designed.
TIMED was created in 1989 to invest tax dollars into building Louisiana’s infrastructure and to provide local jobs. To ensure those jobs were available, in 1991 a legislative amendment was passed requiring that 80 percent of all TIMED contracts be staffed with Louisiana workers. At the close of fiscal year 2007 (FY 2007), 87 percent of TIMED workers are Louisiana residents. The TIMED Program is meeting expectations.
And these workers are delivering results. In FY 2007, 62 additional miles of TIMED roadways were opened to traffic in record time. TIMED construction contracts are now being completed months, and sometimes as much as a year, sooner than in days past thanks to new contracting methods. FY 2007 also saw another 97 miles of TIMED highways begin construction, moving TIMED along to having more than 85 percent of the Program complete or under construction.
We have had a busy, successful year!
There are a lot more success stories in the upcoming Annual Report, but I don’t want to spoil all of the surprises. Stay tuned and check back with us at the end of October to download your copy of “Louisiana People. Louisiana Progress. 2007 TIMED Annual Report”.
That’s my ten minutes for the day – Dana