Dear Colleagues and Partners,
May 12-16, 2025 is Infrastructure Week and Economic Development Week. We have a lot to celebrate and even more work to do.
Infrastructure investment is foundational to economic opportunity. The Federal Highway Administration estimates that every $1 billion invested in highway and bridge infrastructure supports at least 13,000 jobs across the U.S. economy – not only in construction but also in retail, manufacturing, transportation and warehousing, food services, and other industries.
The foundation of a thriving economy is built on mobility — physical, social, and economic. Well-designed, resilient, and well-maintained infrastructure helps lessen overall costs of doing business and increase efficiency, and when communities have a strong foundation of physical infrastructure, their residents can reach well-paying jobs, high-quality education, and other growth opportunities that lead to economic and social mobility.
We’ve seen this in communities across the country — in places like Kalamazoo, Michigan. The City was awarded a $38 million federal grant to upgrade its stormwater infrastructure around a creek that regularly floods, impacting dozens of properties and creating a physical barrier between downtown and the predominantly Black Stuart and Northside neighborhoods. By investing in more resilient infrastructure, the City is able to eliminate the barrier to make their downtown more accessible and grow it as a hub of economic activity, as well as support the redevelopment of a previously flood-prone site. A new privately funded $300 million event center is now under construction and is estimated to generate over $54 million of annual economic impact and create 700 jobs.
In Tempe, Arizona, the City invested $200 million, including a $75 million Federal Transit Administration grant, to bring a three-mile streetcar online. Since the streetcar opened in 2022, Tempe has experienced $7 billion in private investment along the streetcar line, including 22 million square feet of residential property. The City is working with the neighboring City of Mesa on a potential expansion of the streetcar down to Wrigleyville, a development around the Chicago Cubs spring training facility. In nearby Phoenix, the light rail system has led to similarly positive economic growth, with more than $9 billion in private investment along its light rail line.
In Waterloo, Iowa, local leaders recognized that their residents lacked access to affordable and reliable broadband connections to support remote work and access education and online services. Using nearly $27 million in federal funds and $28 million in municipal bonds, the City of Waterloo is creating a municipal broadband network to offer faster, more affordable, and locally owned and operated broadband services to residents and businesses alike.In Philadelphia, the City’s Infrastructure Solutions Team was able to leverage funding through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) to develop new workforce training programs, offering pre-apprenticeship and registered apprenticeship programs in the infrastructure sector that provide competitive wages and ensure high-quality training and work standards. Additionally, the City joined The Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, Urban League of Philadelphia, and The Enterprise Center to form SupplyPHL to support historically underutilized businesses (HUBs) in construction and infrastructure-related sectors. SupplyPHL provides business advisory services and access to capital and facilitates relationships with those seeking contractors.We could go on and on.As local leaders, you’ve seen the powerful impact that federal funding has to modernize and build infrastructure in your communities — and you know more is needed. The American Society of Civil Engineers recently released its 2025 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, awarding our nation’s infrastructure a C. While that is an improvement over the prior report card, we still have a long way to go.With the IIJA set to expire in 2026, Congress has already begun discussions around a new surface transportation bill. Sustaining federal investment at IIJA levels or higher will strengthen rural and urban communities alike, foster innovation, attract private capital, and position America at the forefront of infrastructure excellence.As we kick off Infrastructure Week and Economic Development Week, we invite you to share how your infrastructure investment is benefiting economic development and businesses in your community. Tag us on LinkedIn and X, and visit UnitedforInfrastructure.org for a list of in-person and virtual Infrastructure Week events.
Mary Ellen Wiederwohl
President and CEO | Accelerator for America
