Bids for I-49 Louisiana stimulus projects coming in 15% lower than expected

The Sunday New York Times looks at lower bids being submitted for the first round of stimulus projects by hungry construction companies eager for work. The article mentions a bid to build a 4.7 mile segment of I-49 from Shreveport to the Arkansas line coming in at $4.7 million less than the La. DOT had anticipated. Here's the best I can do on a picture of the I-49 work underway in LA just across the state line (taken by a passenger at 50 MPH). Louisiana started turning dirt near the Arkansas line rather than beginning near Shreveport. Officials there have told us that they anticipate having the interstate open to traffic by 2015. There is a five-mile stretch of unfinished interstate here in Arkansas between Texarkana and the Louisiana line, half of which will be funded by stimulus money.