The (McAllen) Monitor says road crews will begin work on highways in Hidalgo County by next month -- courtesy of the federal stimulus plan aimed at jumpstarting the national economy:

More than 17 miles of highways are expected to be renovated or rebuilt this year at a cost of more than $9 million, according to the Texas Department of Transportation.

That's $532,987 per mile, or about $7.60 for every man, woman and child in Hidalgo County, according to the agency.

The Monitor also referenced our analysis on stimulus funding, which looked at transportation spending by TxDOT by county.

An analysis of stimulus data by Texas Watchdog, a Web-based news outlet, found that Brooks County is expected to receive more stimulus money from TxDOT per resident than any other county in Texas - about $9,766 per person.

Our interactive map is here, and a searchable database and spreadsheet of the projects are here.

Be sure to check back at www.texaswatchdog.org, as we continue digging into the spending by local and state governments of federal stimulus money. Have questions about local spending from the stimulus package? Suggestions for projects to look into? Please let us know. E-mail news@texaswatchdog.org.