The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act - Part 1

Written by: Sara Dennis

This article is the first in a series we’ll be posting, exploring the various areas and sectors the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act bill aims to address through investment and funding. If you’re curious about the other articles in our series, you can find them here: Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4!

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Politics and civil engineering aren’t usually brought up in the same sentence, but it’s happening more often with the new, roughly $1.2 trillion dollar bill that advanced in the US Senate last Wednesday, July 28th, 2021. The bi-partisan bill, formally known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), includes significant funding for various types of infrastructure nationwide. If it passes, it will be the largest addition of federal money into the public works system in over 10 years. This would impact cities and states across the country, as well as the people living in those communities, and a variety of businesses and industries, like civil engineering. In our series of articles discussing the IIJA, we’ll outline different areas of the bill related to infrastructure.

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Roads, Bridges & Major Projects

In 2021, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)’s 2021 Infrastructure Report Card, gave the United States’ roads a ‘D’ grade, and bridges a ‘C’. The report cites that:

  • Almost half (~43%) of our public roadways are in poor or mediocre condition (20.1% and 22.6%, respectively), all rating less than fair or good condition

  • 42% of the nation’s bridges are at least 50 years old

  • 7.5% of all bridges are structurally deficient, AKA in poor condition. Despite these bridges being structurally deficient, 178 million trips are taken across them every day.

The White House’s ‘FACT SHEET: Historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal’ also emphasizes the need for investment stating that every 1 in 5 miles (for a total of 173,000 miles) on our highways and major roads are in poor condition. If passed as is, the IIJA bill would allocate $110 billion dollars in funding for repairing and rebuilding roads, bridges and other major projects.

Public Transit

Public Transit is another section which scores low (a ‘D-’) on ASCE’s 2021 Infrastructure Report Card, with a lot of room for improvement. The IIJA bill hopes to infuse $39 billion dollars into the public transit sector. The investment would help modernize public transit systems, improve accessibility, repair and upgrade aging infrastructure, as well as bring public transit to new communities. If the IIJA bill passes, it will be the largest federal investment in public transit infrastructure to date.

Drinking Water Infrastructure

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The water crisis in Flint, Michigan, and many other towns were harrowing reminders of how drinking water infrastructure has real-world impacts on various aspects of our lives. In 2016, the American Water Works Association conducted a water system survey and found that Ohio had an estimated 650,000 lead pipes, the second highest in the country following Illinois. The White House FACT SHEET expands on this stating that “Currently, up to 10 million American households and 400,000 schools and child care centers lack safe drinking water”. ASCE’s 2021 Infrastructure Report Card rated our drinking water infrastructure as a ‘C-‘, an improvement from 2017’s ‘D’ grade. If passed, the IIJA will bring $55 billion dollars in funding for projects replacing lead pipes and service lines, and eliminating a class of chemicals known as PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances) from the water supply.

From the water we drink to making our commutes safer and/or more efficient, these investments could have huge impacts on our day-to-day lives. In our next three articles, we’ll be discussing more impacts that the bill could have on US infrastructure. Part 2 covers issues dealing with connection, accessibility and social impacts, Reconnecting Communities (separated by infrastructure), High-Speed Internet Access, as well as Environmental Remediation and Electric Buses. Part 3 goes into depth on Airports and Waterways, Passenger and Freight Rail, and making Safer Streets for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers. Part 4 investigates Electrical Vehicle Charging Infrastructure, Disaster Resiliency and Power Infrastructure.