Report: Biden Infrastructure Bill Spurred Increase in State and Local Highway Spending - Streetsblog USA

"But in a comprehensive review of four years of spending since the law went into effect, the Urban Institute has found that historic federal investment in shared modes was eclipsed by an increase in state and local spending on highway projects, as well as a decrease in transit funding at the community level. On balance, total funding for transit across all levels of government actually flatlined - and rail projects experienced a net decline in spending."

"The federal government has been spending less, as a percentage of the gross domestic product, on infrastructure over the last half-century and that spending now comprises just one-quarter of U.S. public infrastructure spending. In 2019, the year before Biden took office, the feds spent $58 billion on highways and $19 billion on transit. Overall, though, states and localities spend significantly more money on transportation than their federal counterparts - and their spending is skewed towards roads."

President Biden pledged major passenger rail and public transit investment through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. Over four years, federal direct non‑highway transportation spending rose 25 percent, from $5.14 billion to $6.44 billion, while federal road spending remained roughly flat. State and local governments increased highway allocations, offsetting federal shared‑mode investments and reducing transit funding at the community level. Overall transit funding across all government levels flatlined, and rail projects experienced a net decline in spending. Federal infrastructure spending as a share of GDP has fallen over decades and now accounts for about one-quarter of public infrastructure outlays.

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