Federal infrastructure package will have far-reaching effects in Iowa

The federal infrastructure bill approved by Congress last year was hailed as a historic investment. And it is — it provides hundreds of billions of dollars for badly needed projects throughout the United States.

But when the nation also has a historic backlog of work that needs done, an injection of new money will only go so far.

“Expectations have been very high, so we need to temper that because the needs far outpace the funding,” Iowa Department of Transportation Director Scott Marler recently told an Iowa House committee, according to The Gazette’s James Q. Lynch.

Only about $550 billion of the $1.2 trillion package is new money, while the rest is funding Congress had already planned to spend. Between the new and old money, projects in Iowa are expected to get some $5 billion over the next several years.

As bureaucrats divvy up the dollars, the infrastructure bill’s impacts in Iowa are coming into view. Several of them are things The Gazette editorial board has been advocating for years.

Bridges

Iowa leads the nation in having the most bridges in poor condition with more than 4,500, according to the Federal Highway Administration. That’s not necessarily because Iowa is particularly delinquent on upkeep, it’s just that Iowa has a lot of bridges in our vast network of county highways and farm-to-market roads.

To put it in a national context, analysts expect the infrastructure bill to help repair about 15,000 highway bridges. If Iowa’s needs were to be fully funded, it would claim nearly a third of that total.

Under a federal formula announced this month, Iowa will receive $432 million in bridge funding over a five-year period, or a little more than $80 million per year.

Given the many variables in bridge updates — compounded by workforce and supply chain shortages — it’s uncertain how many projects will benefit from the federal spending spree.

But combined with state and local contributions, it should make a significant dent in Iowa’s deficient bridge problem.

Water

The state’s aging water treatment, transmission and distribution systems present potential public health hazards. The Environmental Protection Agency totaled $8 billion in needed Iowa water infrastructure projects in a report last year.

Under the federal funding plan, Iowa is set to receive $638 million for water infrastructure over the next five years, including a $111 million haul for the first year. One of the primary goals of the program is to reduce dangerous chemicals in the water supply.

In a letter to Gov. Kim Reynolds last year, EPA Administrator Michael Regan urged the state to focus its share of the money on underserved communities. The issue is especially pressing in rural towns, where shrinking tax bases are increasingly unable to make the significant investments needed to upgrade their infrastructure.

Broadband

A top concern from Iowa policymakers for at least a decade has been broadband internet — they have dedicated hundreds of millions of dollars to the effort but there is much more still to be done. Iowa is among the worst in the nation for broadband access, internet speed and availability of affordable service. Predictably, the lack of access is particularly acute in rural areas.

Iowa will benefit from at least $100 million in infrastructure bill funding for broadband, which Biden administration staffers say will provide high-speed internet to 74,000 Iowans who currently don’t have it. About a quarter of Iowans are expected to qualify for a new federal assistance program to help cover the cost of internet service.

It’s important to recognize that internet infrastructure is just as important as “hard” infrastructure like roads and bridges. For Iowa to prosper in the 21st century, we need to be connected.

Locks and dams

Inland waterways like the busy Mississippi River on Iowa’s eastern border are vital to the manufacturing and agriculture sectors, facilitating hundreds of billions of dollars in economic activity annually. Yet the infrastructure that helps move the boats has fallen into obsolescence. Barges often face delays due to inadequate lock and dam capacity, which drives up the cost of products.

The Army Corps of Engineers plans to spend more than $829 million on lock and dam upgrades on the Upper Mississippi River, which stretches from northern Minnesota to St. Louis. It’s reported to be the biggest influx of funds for such projects since the 1930s when the system was developed. After years of leaders in both parties identifying this growing problem, it’s good to see our important water highways getting some resources.

These funding priorities illustrate some important features of Iowa’s infrastructure landscape. It is a sparse state where a declining but still substantial portion of the population live in far-flung small towns. It takes a lot of miles of infrastructure — roads, pipes, fiber cable — to meet everyone’s needs and to keep them connected beyond their own backyards.

The mounting list of needs serves as a reminder that Iowans need to commit to proper upgrades and maintenance on an ongoing basis. Infrastructure bill funding is a much-needed boost, but more investments will be needed.

(319) 398-8262; editorial@thegazette.com