The upcoming Blueprint America special, The Big Fix, will include an interview with The New York Times op-ed columnist and recent Nobel laureate. Take a look at what he and others have had to say on how infrastructure spending will impact the economy.

Blueprint America correspondent Rick Karr on how the economic crisis may affect New York City's transit system.

President-elect Barack Obama is set to announce Rep. Ray LaHood, Republican of Illinois, as his choice for transportation secretary. The moderate-Republican will be nominated to lead a department that will oversee much of the vast public works programs proposed by the President-elect intended to stimulate the economy.

Leading transportation engineer and former New York traffic commissioner Sam Schwartz analyzes President-elect Obama's plans to boost spending on America's infrastructure.

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) announced people rode subways, buses and commuter railroads in record numbers in the third quarter of this year. At the same time, the plunge in oil prices may have created an opportunity for states and the federal government to readdress the gas tax to better fund infrastructure projects.

U.S. mayors on December 9, 2008, called on President-elect Obama to channel infrastructure spending directly to cities rather than state governments. Consequently, there could be a problem with how infrastructure projects receive funding once the next stimulus bill is passed. However, there may be some lessons to be learned from how the New Deal was managed.

As unemployment continues to increase, President-elect Obama further outlines his stimulus plan for the country, including infrastructure and green energy projects.

President-elect Barack Obama and leaders in Congress are developing a multi-billion dollar green-jobs program to both stimulate the economy and put in place the groundwork for a more energy-efficient country. But, will it work?

In Michigan, the unemployment rate is 9.3 percent – almost three times what it was in 2000. Can new green and infrastructure employment opportunities put these people back to work? What is more, are these jobs that they can quickly transition into?