Construction projects all over Knox Co.

KNOX COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI) - Wabash Valley communities are already putting together dozens of projects, trying to get construction going this summer and receive money from the federal stimulus package.

One southern Indiana county is already finding just how beneficial big construction projects can be for the local economy. In Knox County there are billions of dollars in construction underway.

Local leaders believe these projects are part of the reason Knox County's unemployment rate is at 6.4 percent compared to the state rate of 8.1 percent.

Construction crews have been busy this winter at the new Duke Coal Gasification Power Plant. The $2 billion project is just one of many.

The state is working on a major resurfacing project on U.S. 41. A coal mine is under construction near Oaktown. And in Bruceville, a new sewer system is under construction.

"We have been very fortunate. We had a number of things in the hopper. We had a number of construction projects on the board before the financial meltdown hit the nation and Indiana," Marc NcNeece of the Knox County Chamber said.