President Joe Biden says $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) is a rare opportunity to fund infrastructure projects across the country, but how much of that money is going to highways, roads, and bridges?
The IIJA passed Congress in late 2021 and was touted as a historical opportunity to rebuild key infrastructure, according to WHEC. There have been rumors that only 9% of funding will actually go towards highways, roads, and bridges, but Joe Kane, a fellow at the Brookings Institution, says that number seems low.
“I would just say 9%, it’s definitely low,” said Kane. “I would argue it’s closer to a third or even 40% of the total packages on highways alone, and that’s not including pipes and other types of physical infrastructure.”
Kane says $226 billion is going towards highways and roads, but estimates about $361 billion will go towards transportation projects as a whole, including bridges.
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