Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The state Department of Transportation said Tuesday that it has received almost 900 applications for the 89 jobs it advertised to help manage construction projects being paid for by the federal economic-recovery program.

Most of the jobs are in engineering, with a handful in other professions.The DOT has already begun work on what will be 53 projects costing an estimated $138 million. DOT Director Michael P. Lewis said he needed more help to handle them quickly, and Governor Carcieri agreed.

The response was overwhelming, 1,017 applications in all. There were 172 applicants for 22 civil engineering jobs, and 80 applicants for just one opening for a chief health and safety inspector, according to DOT figures.

"We've never had anything of this magnitude before," said Deputy Director William "Chuck" Alves. "Given the times, we anticipated there would be a substantial amount of interest, and there certainly was."

Correction: An earlier version of this entry gave the wrong number of applicants.

 Tags  economy RIDOT stimulus funds

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