The impact of climate change and extreme weather will continue to place great strain on systems built for an earlier century. Unprecedented flooding has undermined the integrity of tunnels and roads and created the need for multi-billion-dollar developments such as the Gateway project, a new bridge and rail tunnel under the Hudson River that will secure Amtrak services to the Northeast and move hundreds of thousands of daily commuters between New York and New Jersey.
Our existing energy transmission systems, broadband network and transit services cannot meet the larger and more geographically diverse demands of the postpandemic, digital economy. As we transition away from fossil fuels, energy-transmission projects that deliver clean power to America’s urban innovation hubs, such as New York City’s effort to bring clean wind, solar, and hydropower down from upstate and Canada, will be critical to meeting growing demand.
The process through which senators from both parties worked collaboratively with the White House to reach agreement on this legislation reflects the bipartisan nature of the problem. Both urban centers and rural areas, every region of the country, businesses big and small stand to benefit from infrastructure improvements and share in the long-term risks associated with inaction.
The legislation not only focuses on upgrades of inadequate physical and digital infrastructure, but will also provide targeted assistance to emerging local priorities for which municipal and state funding is in short supply. Whether it is an urban area such as New York City, or a small rural town, having the ability to access funds focused directly on your needs is a real game changer for communities. For example, during Covid-19, a record numbers of New Yorkers turned to the city’s bike-sharing program for mobility, but this also resulted in unprecedented numbers of deaths and injuries due to lack of protected bike lanes. There are funds to address biking and pedestrian needs as well as improved accessibility to mass transit and the infrastructure required to service electric vehicles.
This legislation is a strong beginning. In its implementation we hope that the private sector can contribute to leveraging federal dollars with private capital and expertise. America has an estimated backlog of more than $2.6 trillion in physical infrastructure needs. A national infrastructure authority, which was proposed but not included in the final legislation, would facilitate public-private partnerships that have the potential to create tens of thousands more jobs with minimum additional government spending.
Many of the companies that endorse this bipartisan effort have long been active in designing, building and financing public assets around the world, while America lags behind. London and Asia have upgraded air traffic control systems to increase routes and reduce delays, while the U.S. has been slow to follow suit, despite the fact that the GPS technology that first made satellite navigation possible came out of the U.S. Department of Defense. Fast rail magnetic levitation technology was developed in New York, but it has never been put into service here. This legislation can help ensure that the products of American ingenuity are deployed here at home.
We are proud to support the Infrastructure and Jobs Act and congratulate the elected leaders in Washington who worked diligently to make this bipartisan deal. They have demonstrated that our country can transcend partisan political divisions and that is a most hopeful sign for America’s recovery from Covid-19 and future growth.