As lawmakers return to Washington this week, one of their top priorities will be crafting legislation based on the bipartisan infrastructure framework agreed to by President Biden and Senate negotiators last month. Although that agreement set top-line numbers for broad categories of spending, the details for how the money would be spent still need to be fleshed out. Congress should maximize the impact of this transformative investment by including provisions to reduce construction costs and direct funds towards the most beneficial projects.
The costs of building infrastructure in the United States are significantly higher than they are in other countries. New York is home to some of the world’s most expensive mass transit projects, sometimes costing several billion dollars per mile, while costs in other American cities also dwarf those of comparable projects internationally. Roads are no better: A recent tunnel in Seattle cost more than three times as much as a similar project in Paris and seven times as much as one in Madrid. If policymakers can bring the cost of each project down closer to international norms, they can build more infrastructure with the same pool of funds.
