Editor's note: This commentary was submitted to The Advertiser by the Office of the Governor and signed by government and building industry representatives, whose names are listed below and who attended a news conference Dec. 10 to announce the $1.86 billion public infrastructure plan.

The current economic climate is affecting people across the U.S. and here at home. Many have lost their jobs and find themselves in an anxious period of uncertainty, especially during this holiday season.

With people's livelihoods on the line, it is incumbent upon us to work together and take charge of our own destiny. This means a heightened focus on those areas of our economy that are within our sphere of influence.

The state has made accelerating capital improvement projects one of five action steps to help our economy during this difficult time. This is an area over which we, as state and county governments, construction industry executives and labor leaders, can exercise a large measure of control.

Investing in construction has a well-documented multiplier effect that benefits a variety of industries and directly supports our goal of getting people back on the job.

By making sure our architects, engineers, construction workers, suppliers and those businesses that are tied to the construction industry have work, we are not only helping them sustain their families, but also infusing money into our economy and addressing the concerns of residents statewide by implementing needed upgrades to our infrastructure.

On Monday, we joined together to unveil a sweeping plan to implement more than $1.8 billion in public infrastructure improvements statewide. The plan represents our collective commitment to get 1,521 projects which have already been budgeted and approved by the Legislature started as soon as possible within the next 18 months — about an 80 percent increase over what would normally move forward within this time frame.

In compiling the project list for this significant undertaking, our primary consideration was identifying projects that were already approved, in the pipeline and ready to go. The projects vary in size and involve improvements to our public schools, university and community college campuses, public libraries, small boat harbors, public housing facilities, hospital and healthcare facilities, correctional facilities, hurricane shelters and state parks. They also include agricultural irrigation improvements, affordable housing and Hawaiian Homes construction.

For us, these are projects we are capable of supporting and want to move forward on quickly. Those of us representing unions will tell you that news of this aggressive stimulus initiative has already reached and uplifted our membership, many of whom are currently out of work or who could be facing job loss in the near future.

To ensure that this effort stays on target, all 1,521 projects have been posted on the state's Web site at www.hawaii.gov/cip. We are asking you, the public, to track the status of individual projects, including when a project is going out to bid, when the contract will be awarded, what permits are still required and if additional action is needed by a specific government agency — state, county or federal — to move the project forward.

In short, you will be able to see if there are delays. This puts pressure on us, as elected officials and government leaders, to keep projects moving.

Awarding contracts for all of these projects in the time frame we have established will require an unprecedented level of collaboration and cooperation between the public and private sectors and between county, state and federal governments. By putting the projects online and updating the public on their status in a timely manner, we are inviting the community's involvement and ensuring that this unprecedented collaboration takes place.

Given the national and global scale of the current economic downturn, we cannot operate in a business-as-usual fashion or wait to be rescued. We must work together proactively. Our capital improvement effort and the transparency offered by the new Web site represents a very good start.

Our next step is to implement these projects and ensure that their broad economic benefits are fully realized. The people of Hawai'i have our commitment to not leave work each day until we know we have done our absolute best to keep these infrastructure projects moving forward.

Kyle Chock of Pacific Resource Partnership; Perry Artates of Hawai'i Operating Engineers ISF; Buzzy Hong of Hawai'i Building and Construction Trades Council; Bill Wilson of Hawaiian Dredging, General Contractors Association of Hawai'i; Maui Mayor Charmaine Tavares; Big Island Mayor Billy Kenoi; Kaua'i Mayor Bernard Carvalho; Rep. Michael Magaoay, D-46th (Schofield, Mokule'ia, North Shore); Barry Fukunaga, chief of staff for Gov. Linda Lingle.