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US prepares for ‘infrastructure decade’ as Senate passes $US1T bill

Judge Harry Pregerson Interchange, Los Angeles. Photo by Denys Nevozhai on Unsplash

The United States Senate on Tuesday passed President Biden’s $US1 trillion ($1.63 trillion) bipartisan infrastructure bill. As the “once-in-a-generation” legislation continues its way through administrative processes, Roads & Infrastructure takes a look at some of the interesting numbers in the bill.

The legislation proposes investing $550 billion in new direct federal investment in America’s roads and bridges, water infrastructure, resilience, internet, and more. That is almost equivalent to what was spent in 1956 to build the US interstate highway system. Another $450 billion has been earmarked for investment in previously approved infrastructure investments.

Roads and bridges

A fifth of the new federal spending in the bill, that is $US110 billion ($136 billion), will fund roads, bridges, and major projects, and reauthorise the surface transportation program for the next five years.

A World Economic Forum report in 2019 put the US shy of the top 10 among other wealthy nations for transportation infrastructure. One in five miles, or 173,000 total miles (278,000 kilometres), of the US highways and major roads and 45,000 bridges are in poor condition, according to the White House.

This investment aims to repair and rebuild roads and bridges with a focus on climate change mitigation, including cyclists and pedestrians. The bill includes a total of $US40 billion ($54 billion) of new funding for bridge repair, replacement, and rehabilitation, which is the single largest dedicated bridge investment since the construction of the interstate highway system.

The bill also includes around $US16 billion ($21.7 billion) for major projects that are too large or complex for traditional funding programs but will deliver significant economic benefits to communities.

The deal invests $US11 billion ($15 billion) in transportation safety programs, including a new Safe Streets for All program to help states and localities reduce crashes and fatalities in their communities, especially for cyclists and pedestrians.

Public transit

America’s transit infrastructure is inadequate – with a multibillion-dollar repair backlog, representing more than 24,000 buses, 5,000 rail cars, 200 stations, and thousands of miles of track, signals, and power systems in need of replacement.

The bill sets aside $US66 billion ($89.8 billion) to upgrade passenger and freight rail, with grants as well for intercity and high-speed train services. This is the largest investment in passenger rail since the creation of Amtrak, US’s passenger railroad service, 50 years ago. The funds would also go towards connecting more areas with rail, beyond the eastern seaboard.

The deal also invests $US39 billion ($53.8 billion) of new investment to modernise transit, and improve accessibility for the elderly and people with disabilities, in addition to continuing the existing transit programs for five years as part of surface transportation reauthorisation.

The largest US federal investment in public transit in history, the plan will also deliver thousands of zero emission buses, low emission buses, and ferries with a total investment of $US7.5 billion ($10.2 billion).

EV infrastructure

The bill invests $US7.5 billion ($10.2 billion) to build out a national network of EV chargers. This is the first-ever national investment in EV charging infrastructure in the United States and is a critical element in the Biden Administration’s plan to accelerate the adoption of EVs to address the climate crisis and support domestic manufacturing jobs.

The bill will provide funding for deployment of EV chargers along highway corridors to facilitate long-distance travel and within communities to provide convenient charging where people live, work, and shop.  Federal funding will have a particular focus on rural, disadvantaged, and hard-to-reach communities.

Clean energy

Going green and clean was a big part of Mr Biden’s campaign promises. His earlier hopes for over $US100 billion towards clean energy have been temporarily dashed, but this bill puts billions towards new power lines, rebuilding America’s old electric grids and expanding clean energy.

The deal invests $US21 billion ($28.85 billion) in environmental remediation, making the largest investment in addressing the legacy pollution that harms the public health of communities and neighbourhoods. The bill includes funds to clean up superfund and brownfield sites, reclaim abandoned mine land and cap orphaned gas wells.

It will also invest $US55 billion ($75 billion) in clean drinking water, including dedicated funding to replace lead service lines and the dangerous chemical PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl).

High speed internet

The digital divide has become a bigger issue in recent years – with inequalities thrown into relief during the remote-everything of the pandemic. This allotment seeks to link up millions living in rural and lower-income communities with reliable internet access. Companies who receive a share of this government funding will need to have lower-priced plans on offer and allow customers to compare costs. A programme to subsidise internet and related tech for low income families is also on the books.

The deal’s $US65 billion ($88.4 billion) investment will go towards  providing reliable high-speed internet with investment in broadband infrastructure deployment.

Power Infrastructure

As the recent Texas power outages demonstrated, US’s ageing electric grid needs urgent modernisation. A US Department of Energy study found that power outages cost the US economy up to $US70 billion annually. The deal’s $73 billion ($99.3 billion) investment is the single largest investment in clean energy transmission in American history.

To fund the ambitious investment plan, the legislation plans to draw funds from unused economic relief funds, taxes on cryptocurrency, and delaying a healthcare rebate package, among other smaller sources.

The infrastructure bill will now be passed on to the US House of Representatives for voting (potentially in September), as the Senate moves on to debating an even more far-reaching $3.5 trillion social support package proposed by the Biden-Harris Administration.


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