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Ports from coast to coast are eyeing improvement projects to help alleviate supply chain issues that have plagued businesses since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The focus on port projects in the recently enacted Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is part of an overall push from the Biden administration to help alleviate the clogged supply chain in the U.S — Construction Dive
As reported by Construction Dive, an additional $241 million in grants through the United States Maritime Administration Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) will join the $17 billion being directed towards seaports. The additional funds will go toward 25 projects in 19 states. And... View full entry
Ten people were injured Friday morning when a bridge that carries Forbes Avenue over Frick Park in Pittsburgh collapsed, officials said, with six vehicles including a Port Authority bus left stranded in the twisted mess of a bridge that had been listed in poor condition for the past decade. — The Pittburgh Post-Gazette
President Biden is visiting the city today in a pre-planned visit to Carnegie Mellon University’s Mill 19 research hub, where, ironically, he is expected to deliver a speech on the dire need for infrastructure investment in Pittsburgh and the rest of the country. The Biden Administration... View full entry
Although the prices of some raw materials fell in December, costs are still sky high for contractors looking to purchase them, according to a new analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America. Overall, the price of construction materials jumped nearly 20% in 2021, the group said Thursday. — Construction Dive
In addition, according to the Associated General Contractors of America’s (AGC) 2022 Construction Hiring and Business Outlook Survey, material costs were listed as a top concern for contractors this year. Though prices moderated for some construction materials in December, they still... View full entry
The Department of Homeland Security announced on Monday that it would begin performing maintenance and emergency repairs on areas of the unfinished border wall with Mexico that runs along Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and California. — Construction Dive
Following President Biden’s executive order in January to halt the construction of the border wall, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is in the process of terminating the construction contracts for the projects. As part of this process, unfinished projects were handed over to the Department of... View full entry
President Biden on Wednesday set in motion a plan to make the federal government carbon neutral, ordering federal agencies to buy electric vehicles, to power facilities with wind, solar and nuclear energy, and to use sustainable building materials. — The New York Times
Biden called for the transformation of 300,000 government buildings, 600,000 cars and trucks, and the use of its annual $650 billion budget for goods and services to meet his goal for a carbon-neutral federal government by 2050. Detailed by The New York Times, his timetable for the... View full entry
The transit agency that oversees New York City’s subway, buses and two regional commuter rails will postpone fare increases for at least six months and defer drastic service cuts now that it anticipates receiving billions of dollars from the federal infrastructure bill, officials said on Monday. — The New York TImes
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said that the newly-enacted $1 trillion infrastructure bill signed by President Biden today would allow the state and the MTA to avoid harmful price and service changes. The influx of money comes as the MTA is aggressively trying to lure back ridership, which... View full entry
U.S. solar and wind deployments are on track to hit new records in 2022 as momentum behind the energy transition grows, according to a new report from S&P Global Market Intelligence. — CNBC
The firm forecasts that as much as 44 gigawatts of utility-scale solar and 27 gigawatts of wind will come online next year. For solar, this is nearly double 2021’s estimated 23 gigawatts of new capacity. As reported by CNBC, the factors behind this upswing include the expansion of state-level... View full entry
Modern-day equivalents of megaprojects like the Hoover Dam can benefit broad swaths of the United States, but infrastructure experts say they have often stagnated. President Biden campaigned to address the issue. Now his transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, is tasked with speeding up such projects, which can straddle state lines and take years to complete. — The Washington Post
Megaprojects like the finally-approved Gateway Program that would add a tunnel between New Jersey and Manhattan’s west side have been thrown around without much tangible backing until now. Buttigieg has been vocal about the need for infrastructure spending, calling for a “generational... View full entry
The AIA has expressed support for legislation recently re-introduced to the U.S. Congress, which seeks to prevent future administrations and the federal government from mandating preferred design styles for federal buildings. The organization had previously been critical of a 2020 decision by the... View full entry
The Biden administration has announced a range of measures intended to address the US housing crisis. The measures, which do not require congressional approval, and are separate from measures included in the pending infrastructure bill, aim to built and preserve 100,000 affordable homes over the... View full entry
The eviction system, which saw a dramatic drop in cases before a federal moratorium expired over the weekend, rumbled back into action Monday, with activists girding for the first of what could be millions of tenants to be tossed onto the streets as the delta variant of the coronavirus surges. — ABC
The White House is now pushing for states and cities to use some of the billions in coronavirus funds still being held up. Representative Cori Bush of Missouri has been sleeping on the Capitol steps since Friday to raise awareness. Renters in states like New Jersey and Massachusetts have more time... View full entry
The $1 trillion package is far smaller than the $2.3 trillion plan that President Biden had originally proposed and would provide about $550 billion in new federal money for public transit, roads, bridges, water and other physical projects over the next five years, according to a White House fact sheet. — The New York Times
A proposed $20 billion in aid to communities of color that have been historically impacted by past infrastructure projects was reduced to $1 billion as part of the dealmaking process. New York Senator Chuck Schumer has promised an additional $3.5 trillion package that will address climate and... View full entry
The federal government has announced plans to return $2.2 billion allocated to fund border wall construction. This comes following President Joe Biden’s proclamation, made on his first day in office, to halt the redirection of money for the wall. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS)... View full entry
With the Memorial Day deadline now passed for President Biden’s massive new $2.25 trillion infrastructure bill, architects and planners are watching closely and with interested eyes to see what is included in any future version of the bill that has the potential to make outsized impacts in... View full entry
On March 31st, President Biden unveiled his $2 trillion economic plan to "reimagine and rebuild a new economy." The American Jobs Plan aims to "invest in America in a way we have not invested since we built the interstate highways and won the Space Race." During Wednesday's speech... View full entry
