Wall Street Journal: LaHood Asks States to Redirect Stimulus Funds to Hard-Hit Areas

From Wall Street Journal: 

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood urged states to redirect stimulus funds to areas hit hardest by the recession, in an apparent effort to better-target federal dollars as job losses and criticism of the spending program mount.  In a letter sent to all 50 governors Thursday, Mr. LaHood asked states "wherever possible" to deploy funds saved from lower-than-expected bids on highway and transit projects financed by the economic-stimulus package, to "economically depressed areas." Bids for many highway projects have come in below original estimates, apparently due to impacts of the recession, although it is unclear how much states have saved due to this trend.