So Rhode Island — indeed, Tiverton — may be providing the first instance of the federal stimulus at work:

It will surely be the first in Rhode Island and there’s a chance that a Main Road, Tiverton, rebuilding job could be the first federal stimulus job in the nation.
“We’ve already had some inquiries from national media,” said Frank Corrao, chief of construction for the state Department of Transportation. “We’re not sure but we hear that this one could be the first.”

In whatever coverage there may be of this milestone, in whatever political grandstanding, will anybody ask the critical questions: Why did we allow this road to reach this point, why did it require once-a-century federal largess to fix it, and what can we do to ensure that our transportation infrastructure doesn’t continue to deteriorate to this state?
I’ll guess “no.” From the print edition of the story:

Mr. Corrao said that while this has been a “priority” job for some time, it was backlogged with many others due to lack of funds. It is a job that needs doing, he said, “but the money wasn’t there.”

Then where was it?