The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act - Part 2

Written by: Sara Dennis

This article is the second in a series we’ll be posting, exploring the various areas and sectors the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) 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 1, Part 3 and Part 4!

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Reconnecting Communities

Too often low-income communities and communities of color have been disrupted by new highways and other transportation projects, leaving them separated from areas they were previously connected to, and in need of better access or affordable transportation options. One example of this are the highways I-580, I-880 and I-980 in Oakland, California, which were built where low-income housing used to be. Another example is State Route 40 in Baltimore, Maryland, which was built going through a historically Black neighborhood, leaving it divided, “while the freeways opened up routes from the suburbs to the city centres, there were often a conspicuous lack of entrances in black communities” (Miller). The IIJA would create the first-ever program designed to reconnect and revitalize these communities that have been separated by transportation infrastructure. The proposed $1 billion dollars would fund planning projects, as well as design, demolition and reconstruction of street grids, parks and other infrastructure.

High-Speed Internet

Broadband, AKA high-speed internet, has become increasingly important in our lives. Its importance was highlighted during the coronavirus pandemic, when millions of people were advised to work from home and schools pivoted classes to a virtual environment. All the while 65% of counties in the US have average connection speeds lower than the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) definition of broadband according to the ASCE’s 2021 Infrastructure Report Card. The report also notes that an estimated 1 out of every 5 school aged children lacked the broadband access needed to participate in virtual classes and download school materials. The IIJA would invest $65 billion dollars to ensure that “every American has access to reliable high-speed internet with an historic investment in broadband infrastructure deployment” (FACT SHEET). This funding would help increase overall internet accessibility by making funding recipients offer a low-cost affordable plan, increasing price transparency and boosting competition in certain areas without adequate service.

Environmental Remediation

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Environmental remediation is the process of removing pollution or contaminants from the soil, sediment, groundwater and/or surface water of a particular site. This can happen if hazardous waste is dumped or improperly managed, for example at a mining site, landfill, processing plant, etc. In the US, these sites are usually referred to as Superfund sites, named after the dedicated funding source – the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), AKA Superfund – used to by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to clean-up these contaminated sites.

There is a close intersection between environmental remediation and environmental justice, as 26% of Black and 29% of Hispanic Americans live within 3 miles of a Superfund site, which is a higher proportion than for Americans overall. Living near these contaminated Superfund sites can have severe health consequences, such as elevated levels of lead in children’s blood. The IIJA proposes investing $21 billion dollars into environmental remediation projects, cleaning up Superfund and brownfield (contaminated sites that will be used for development) sites, as well as reclaiming abandoned mining land, and capping gas wells.

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Electric Buses

The IIJA bill proposes delivering another $7.5 billion dollars to improve the nation’s school buses, which are necessary to provide access to education but a big a source of air pollution. The ties between air pollution and public health are well known, like the fact that diesel air pollution has been linked to asthma and other health problems. Despite this, an estimated 25 million children and thousands of bus drivers breathe polluted air on their commutes to and from school every day. The $7.5 billion will be divided between $2.5 billion for zero emission buses, $2.5 billion for low emission buses, and $2.5 billion for ferries. Removing these diesel buses from communities will help reduce air pollution, and could help stimulate the economy.

These investments can help (re)connect communities in a variety of ways, helping them physically with construction projects, or digitally with internet access. Additionally, the environmental benefits from clean-up projects, and switching to electric and low emission buses will also help improve public health and make the outdoors safer and more appealing.