From building new infrastructure to laying the groundwork for hiring workers, there are various interpretations of the phrase “shovel ready” going around. More than three months after the stimulus bill passed through Congress, what is the status of these projects and who is benefiting?

On the Nightly Business Report blog Xchange, producer Dana Bate takes a look at what Shovel Ready means for the economy now — how ready are we to break ground on these projects?

“Well…”shovel ready” doesn’t really mean “ready for shovels” — at least not right away. It means the projects have all the paperwork in order — environmental impact studies, right of way clearance — and just need the money to bid on contractors,” Bate writes.

NBR’s Reviving the Economy site provides background and a video report follows the trail of stimulus funds from page to action.

While the larger projects take more time, smaller businesses have started putting funds to work. Back in March, NPR took a look at President Obama’s Shovel Ready list, and followed the story of a construction firm in Kalamazoo, Michigan and how they are planning to use stimulus money to stay afloat.

But the Kalamazoo story is just one of thousands of projects out there feeling the effects of the stimulus funds. At WNYC, the new project Shovel Watch is asking you to step outside and see what’s happening in your community – are there roads being repaired? Gardens being built? The Adopt-a-Stimulus Project database project lets you search by state, from the resurfacing of Lamar County Line in Marion, Alabama, to the building of a new fence in Sheridan, Wyoming. Share what you’re seeing in your neighborhood with ShovelWatch.org and read more about how the government’s plan is being implemented across the country.