White House Issues Progress Report on Infrastructure Act Rollout

Of the law's $1.2 trillion, nearly $400 billion in funding has been announced, including more than 40,000 projects and awards, White House says.

Graphic by ENR Art Dept.

As the two-year anniversary of Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act's signing into law approaches on Nov. 15, the Biden administration has released an update on how the rollout for the $1.2-trillion measure is going.

The release of the White House document comes not only near the its two-year milepost, but at a time when House Republicans have been producing appropriations bills that would slash funding for many infrastructure accounts for fiscal year 2024.

According to the summary, which the White House issued on Nov. 9, so far the administration has announced almost $400 billion in funding under the law, which includes more than 40,000 individual projects and funding awards.

It adds that projects are located in more than 4,500 communities across all states as well as the District of Columbia, territories and tribal lands.

Besides direct infrastructure funding and grants, the administration credits the law with helping to spark more than $614 billion in private sector investment in manufacturing facilities and clean energy.

It also notes that the investments have supported the creation of a record number of construction jobs.

The update includes snapshots by infrastructure sector, including:

Highways and Bridges: Shares of the $300 billion in the IIJA have so far supported more than 7,800 bridge repair projects, as well as beginning upgrades to 135,000 miles of roads.

Rail: Of the $66 billion contained in the IIJA, $16.4 billion for 25 projects on the Northeast Corridor, was announced just days earlier. Previously, plus another $6 billion was awarded for non-Northeast Corridor passenger rail projects and 70 other freight and non-Northeast Corridor passenger rail projects.

Airports: So far $2 billion has been awarded for more than 190 airport terminal projects in 48 states, Puerto Rico and the Northern Marianas Islands. Eight of the projects are complete, the summary says, and 67 are under construction. In addition, under the Airport Infrastructure Grants Program, 535 grants have gone for pavement projects, of which 110 projects are under construction and 18 are finished.

Ports and Waterways: With $17 billion available under the IIJA, the U.S. Dept. of Transportation and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to date have funded 445 port and waterway projects. Some large ones are under construction, including Montgomery Locks and Dam in Pennsylvania and Soo Locks in Michigan.

Transit: DOT has $90 billion available under the infrastructure law, including funds for the Federal Transit Administration’s Capital Investment Grant program. The Mill Plains Bus Rapid Transit project in Vancouver, Wash., is complete and the Phoenix Northwest Light Rail Extension is under construction, the report says. The summary does not provide a total for transit funds committed so far.

Electric Vehicle Infrastructure: So far $2.4 billion has been allocated to states, with construction under way in some places.

Water Infrastructure: In all, the law has $50 billion for this sector and so far 1,200 drinking water and wastewater treatment projects have been funded. To date the US Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $11 billion in Clean Water State Revolving Funds, which support wastewater treatment infrastructure.

Broadband: Of the $65 billion available, the US Commerce Dept. and other agencies have allocated $40 billion to states, D.C. and territories. In addition $1 billion has gone for “middle-mile” infrastructure and $2 billion for rural high-speed internet.

Energy: The law has provided $62 billion to expand and upgrade the U.S. electric grid and clean energy. So far the U.S. Energy Dept. has announced $5.5 billion for 60 projects to improve grid reliability. In addition, the agency recently announced $7 billion to boost development of seven clean hydrogen production hubs across the country.

Superfund/Brownfields: So far, EPA has awarded $2.5 billion of the $5 billion in the law. Funds have gone to 70 Superfund projects.

Resilience: IIJA includes $50 billion to strengthen various types of infrastructure. Agencies so far have funded 2,300 resilience projects.

The White House also release state-by-state fact sheets and a lengthy spreadsheet listing more than 40,000 projects.

The impact of the IIJA is expected to grow. For one thing, it extends for three more years, with funding authorities for at least some categories continuing well beyond the law's fifth year. Construction projects, especially large ones routinely span multiple years. So the economic effects of a project selected for a grant in the fifth year of the law will extend well beyond that point.

Tom Ichniowski has been writing about the federal government as ENR’s Washington Bureau Chief since the George H.W. Bush administration, and he has covered at least five major highway bills. A recognized expert on government policy on infrastructure and regulation, Tom is also a Baltimore native and Orioles fan who grew up rooting for Brooks and Frank Robinson. He is a graduate of Columbia College and Columbia’s graduate school of journalism, where he once used “unrelentless” in a headline.

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