Shovel ready
In politics, a shovel ready construction project (usually larger-scale infrastructure) is where planning and engineering is advanced enough that—with sufficient funding—construction can begin within a very short time. The term was popularized by then-U.S. president-elect Obama in 2008.
In 2010, then-U.S. president Obama declared he had come to realize that there is "no such thing as shovel-ready projects."[1][2]
History
The term was first used in print in 1995.[3]
Writing for
Later, other commentators suggested the phrase denoted projects which were able to begin construction within a specific time-frame of three or four months[7] on a use it or lose it basis.
Examples
In the US
Having originated in the
In Iowa, the Seven County Corridor Alliance (Benton County, Cedar County, Iowa County, Johnson County, Jones County, Linn County and Washington County) established a Shovel Ready Certification Program to certify projects as shovel ready that will be added to a local, regional and statewide inventory of sites with similar qualifications and will be strongly marketed.[8]
The Georgia Department of Transportation has established specific criteria projects must meet to be considered shovel ready including National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) clearances and relevant property acquisition requirements.[9]
In Australia
In Australia, the term is also used in relation to stimulus funding, specifically funding programs like the Building the Education Revolution (BER) program.[10] In 2009, the term shovel-ready won the Macquarie Dictionary Word of the Year award.[11]
In the UK
In the United Kingdom, the phrase has been used on a number of occasions by Vincent De Rivaz, the Chief Executive of EDF Energy, in the context of a proposed new nuclear power station in Somerset.[12][13][14]
As in the rest of the United Kingdom, in
References
- ^ "Obama: "No Such Thing as Shovel-Ready Projects"". CBS News. 13 October 2010.
- ^ PETER BAKER (12 October 2010). "The Education of President Obama". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
He realized too late that "there's no such thing as shovel-ready projects" when it comes to public works
- ^ "Shovel-ready", Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary
- ^ President Obama on Meet the Press to describe projects for his stimulus plan during a Meet the Press interview - [1]
- Washington Post(8 January 2009)
- ^ "The Obama Buzzword That Hit Pay Dirt", Washington Post
- Boston Globe(20 January 2009)
- ^ Shovel Ready Iowa: Archived 2012-01-07 at the Wayback Machine Program Overview (2012)
- ^ Georgia Department of Transportation FAQ: What does “shovel-ready” mean? (30 July 2010) [dead link]
- ^ Springs plan "shovel ready", The Mercury (4 July 2012)
- ^ "Shovel-ready" wins Macquarie's word of year, Herald Sun (3 February 2010)
- ^ Hinkley Point is "shovel ready"
- ^ Q193 reply "We are shovel ready"
- ^ "The project at Hinkley Point C is now "shovel-ready"
- Press Release), Alex Neil(9 March 2012)