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?

Nationwide there are more than 550 transit projects valued at $8 billion that are "ready to go" as soon as funding is made available. Countless other infrastructure projects remain stalled throughout the country as the funds are simply not there to begin building. If these projects are to stimulate the economy, as President-elect Obama has said, where will the money to start these projects come from as many states face billion dollar budget shortfalls?

Los Angeles County voters approved a half-cent sales-tax increase, expected to raise as much as $40 billion, for area infrastructure projects.

California voters approved $9.95 billion to fund a high-speed train network linking Southern California with the Bay Area.

The New York Times reports on the growing movement in Washington to devote the next stimulus package to infrastructure spending. Rep. Jim Oberstar (D., MN), Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, has been outspoken in his belief that public works spending needs to start now. He responded to opponents who argue that infrastructure spending would take too long to create a meaningful number of jobs quickly.

Traffic gridlock is hindering economic productivity and increasing pollution in countries around the globe. Blueprint America -- with Worldfocus -- travels to Singapore to see how that country is trying to get commuters out of theirs cars and into rapid transit buses and subways with a traffic congestion pricing plan.

In the last segment of a five part series on infrastructure in the U.S., NewsHour Senior Correspondent Ray Suarez reports with Blueprint America on the critical lessons learned from Boston's Big Dig.

Gov. Ed Rendell (D., PA) is an advocate for reforming infrastructure policy and practice in both his state and throughout the rest of America. In Pennsylvania, Gov. Rendell has proposed varying measures to improve the state’s infrastructure, which rates particularly poor in road and bridge quality, from tolling to privatizing public roads.

While some states are looking everywhere for funding as revenues fall, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal is thinking twice about taking stimulus money from the federal government. Even as the state's infrastructure is reeling, he tells Blueprint America that there are consequences to unchecked government borrowing and spending.