On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed into law the $1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. President Biden stated, “This law makes the most significant investment in the past 70 years. What that means is you’re going to be safer, you’re going to get there faster, and we’re going to have a lot less pollution in the air”. While it can be debated that some of the taxpayer’s money that will be spent is not necessary, most in the transportation industry look forward to the money that will be spent to repair our country’s highways, bridges, railroads, and ports. Once a world leader, the U.S. is ranked 13^th in the world when it comes to infrastructure quality, according to the World Economic Forum. The American Society of Civil Engineers graded the country’s infrastructure as a C- this year.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provides for $110 billion for roads and bridges, $66 billion for railroads, $25 billion for airports, and $17 billion for our ports and waterways. The American Truckers Association (ATA) believes that the new law is good for public safety, job creation in the trucking industry, good for the environment, and will help America’s economy. ATA President and CEO Chris Spear stated, “After countless hearings and meetings on Capitol Hill, ATA members will finally see the fruits of their labor – a 38% increase in road and bridge funding, and an infusion of highly-trained, younger talent into our workforce.” The Truckload Carriers Association also praised the bill calling it “a significant investment in our nation’s roads and bridges that delivers a desperately needed injection into the Highway Trust Fund to keep it solvent.”

According to the ATA, 43% of the countries’ 4 million miles of public roadways are in poor or mediocre condition. 42% of the 617,000 bridges in our country are at least 50 years old, and 46,000 of our bridges are structurally deficient. In addition, the ATA indicated that traffic congestion created by worsening freight bottlenecks amounts to 1.2 billion hours of lost productivity in the U.S., the equivalent of 425,533 commercial truck drivers sitting idle for an entire year. The lost time and excess fuel burn equate to $74.1 billion in added operational costs.

On the other hand, as indicated in Forbes magazine, the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee highlights how the country’s policy choices inhibit construction. As the report notes, there is demand for newer and better roads, bridges, and ports in many parts of the country, as well as, demand for more housing, improved airports, more resilient power grids, and an upgraded water system. It’s not a lack of demand that prevents us from having these things, but a lack of supply, held back by red tape and bureaucracy. Forbes indicated that currently nearly all infrastructure is built, maintained, and operated by the state and local governments (56%), or the private sector (40.5%). So, do we really need hundreds of billions of dollars in federal infrastructure spending? The Forbes article argues that the proposed tax increases to pay for the Infrastructure law could overwhelm any productivity gains from more infrastructure, resulting in slower GDP growth. According to Forbes, if taxpayer’s money is going to be spent, the government should work to reduce the number of regulatory barriers that make it so expensive for the federal government to build anything.

Most Americans agree that something needs to be done to improve the infrastructure in our country to help with the issues we currently have with our supply chain, and to make all our modes of transportation safer for all. The real issue will be how efficiently and effectively the federal government can implement the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to make the most of our tax money. Only time will tell. Stay tuned, and let’s all hope for the best, as we all know improvements to our infrastructure are sorely needed.