Newsletters
| Transit & Infrastructure
Newsletters
| Economic & Community Development, Housing, Transit & Infrastructure
- Newsletters
- | Economic & Community Development, Housing, Transit & Infrastructure
Dear Partners and Colleagues,
Communicating the critical importance of infrastructure can be a challenge. No one likes when construction slows down or alters their commute. Business owners are understandably concerned about how construction timelines will affect customer access to their businesses and their bottom line. We know that infrastructure investments increase public safety, grow our economy, provide quality jobs, build resilience, and improve quality of life — but we need to do a better job telling that story.
The American Society of Civil Engineers’ ‘Report Card on America’s Infrastructure’ paints a mixed picture of the state of infrastructure in our country. The United States has made progress toward overall improvement of the country’s infrastructure following significant investment through the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), but it’s not nearly enough. With IIJA expiring in September 2026, House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee and Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works leadership are pursuing ambitious timelines to develop surface transportation reauthorization legislation in their respective committees.
Whether talking to your neighbor or a federal lawmaker, 2026 ASCE President-Elect Carol Haddock encourages local leaders to drill down to the impact infrastructure investment, or lack of investment, has on individuals. Haddock joined Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, Lansing Mayor Andy Schor, and Miami-Dade County Commissioner Eileen Higgins on a recent Accelerator for America (AFA) webinar to discuss how they are talking about infrastructure needs amid federal reauthorization discussions.
“When you look at the condition of our roadways, you look at the fact that the actual travel surface of the roadway can impact your vehicle on a daily basis. Those [infrastructure] investments can save you money on tires; it can save you money on repairs to your vehicle. It can save you money on all those things that happen that are not in your budget,” Haddock said. “It is not in your budget to work on your suspension or those types of things because our infrastructure is not being invested in.”
Haddock noted that for years she had to buy filters to keep rust coloring out of the water coming into her home from the cast-iron pipes that ran down her street. Eventually, those were replaced with new, modern materials, eliminating that additional cost. Continued and significant infrastructure investment could save families $700 annually, ASCE reports.
ASCE is a Steering Committee member of United for Infrastructure, a national bipartisan infrastructure coalition advocating for a strong surface transportation reauthorization bill to secure long-term funding at or above IIJA levels. AFA’s sister 501(c)(4) organization Accelerator for America Action leads United for Infrastructure alongside a robust network of fellow infrastructure advocates and partners.
“When you look at how many millions of people that live in the United States, and how many thousands of communities there are in the United States, those billions of dollars are divided amongst all that, and that’s not actually enough money to solve all [our nation’s infrastructure] issues,” Haddock said. “Infrastructure is the foundation that all [local services] depend on. When that foundation is shaky, all the services that rely on it are impacted.”
During the webinar, Commissioner Higgins offered tips for how she engages both residents and federal lawmakers around transit and infrastructure.
“Transit is how we connect people to economic opportunity — whether that’s jobs, health care, school,” Commissioner Higgins said, citing new development around the county’s nearly completed all-electric Bus Rapid Transit line. “I often don’t talk about transit. I talk about how near the [bus] stations we are already seeing private sector investment going on. There are new office buildings; there is new housing.”
The $300 million investment in the South Dade TransitWay is translating to billions of dollars in private investment, she said.
Miami-Dade County also has convened a group of senior business leaders who make regular trips to Washington, D.C. to speak with legislators about their companies’ infrastructure and transportation needs. By partnering with the business community, local leaders are bolstering their push for more federal investment in their region.
Mayor Schor noted that Lansing officials have adapted their strategies for how they talk about their infrastructure needs given changing federal policies. Lansing is home to multiple automobile assembly plants and a battery plant. General Motors was awarded $500 million in federal funding to help convert its downtown Lansing facility for electric vehicle production, a $1.2 billion project. Today, he focuses less on the fact that the planned investment is related to electric vehicles and places more emphasis on how the investment would grow the economy and create new jobs by adding a third shift. “Same needs, same program, different words.”
Mayor Gallego, who earlier this month addressed the Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works, reiterated her call for robust funding and the need for federal grant program requirements to account for each community’s unique circumstances. In Phoenix, workers need longer breaks to prevent heat exhaustion and other heat-related ailments, and traditional road paving materials deteriorate more rapidly in the region’s extreme heat, necessitating that the city invest in more expensive, heat durable materials.
“There is not one size fits all, so we need flexible tools,” she said.
Local government budgets are simply inadequate to the scale of our infrastructure needs; local leaders seek partnership with federal and state leaders to ensure we continue to invest for growth and prosperity. A great example of partnership is seen in communities across the country who use local, state, and federal fund sources to support transit and surface transportation investments.
In November 2024, Phoenix voters approved a ballot measure to extend its half cent sales tax to support transit and infrastructure investment. “Thank you to Accelerator for America Action for helping us get those to the ballot, and in one case, we had to go back to the ballot to defend it, but time and time again — and often by increasing margins — our voters are saying ‘Yes, we do think we can make a difference and we will allocate our tax dollars,’ ” Mayor Gallego said.
Congressional leaders are working now to develop the language that will become the next surface transportation legislation. ASCE’s Report Card could not be more clear – in order to continue improving our national infrastructure systems and limit financial impact on American residents, we must secure robust, sustained infrastructure investment. As the officials closest to these residents, local elected leaders have a unique part to play in educating Congress on how vitally important infrastructure projects are.
Join ASCE and the whole United for Infrastructure coalition to secure America’s infrastructure future. Learn more at UnitedforInfrastructure.org.
