For decades, the rusty old span bridge over the Pemigewasset River along New Hampshire’s Route 175 has been a lifeline for residents in neighboring communities, carrying emergency vehicles, school buses and trucks moving lumber, sand and gravel.

The bridge, built in 1939, has also served as a symbol of the decaying state of American infrastructure after being added to the state’s “red list” in 2014 because of its “structurally deficient” condition. The state and federal governments vowed to fix the aging span for years, but failed to deliver.

President Joe Biden used the bridge as a backdrop in November 2021 to launch a nationwide campaign touting the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which he had just signed.

Biden hailed the new law as a “once-in-a-generation” infrastructure spending plan, saying it would have a “meaningful impact” on everyday lives from more efficient transportation to keeping emergency routes open.

But nearly two years after he signed the law, construction work on the New Hampshire bridge has yet to get underway. Although funding has been allocated, the project isn’t expected to break ground until 2025.

Construction industry experts say the delays are common and emblematic of how implementation of the infrastructure law is being hampered by red tape, regulations and other complications that could ultimately erode the value of the massive federal investment.

“A lot of people thought there was going to be a bonanza of projects right after this bill was signed,” said Ben Brubeck, vice president of regulatory, labor and state affairs with Associated Builders and Contractors, a construction trade group. “But there’s been a lot of red tape, and it’s taking a long time to get this money the states and localities.”

About the law

The law authorizes $1.2 trillion in federal spending over a five-year period, including $550 billion in new spending to rebuild public works and transportation infrastructure.

Much of this money is being distributed to state governments and has already been earmarked for specific projects, including bridge and highway repair, electric vehicle charging station construction, broadband internet expansion, airport improvements, cybersecurity and drinking water upgrades.

Billions of dollars have already been doled out to states over the past two years, with more money being available through an exhaustive list of competitive infrastructure grants. States and local governments are clamoring to apply for the additional funds.

In New York, which is getting nearly $27 billion from the infrastructure law, a project to renovate a 1910 tunnel that carries hundreds of thousands of rail passengers beneath the Hudson between New Jersey and New York City is moving ahead thanks, in part, to the influx of new federal funding.

Alabama is using a portion of its $7 billion allocation to build a new factory to produce batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage systems.

Mississippi is tapping into its $3.7 billion share of the funds to add new lanes to a busy section of highway along the Gulf Coast and to expand rail service.

Texas, which will get more than $35 billion from the law, the largest allocation of any state, plans to spend more than $3.3 billion to expand high-speed, broadband internet service to its far-flung citizenry.

Massachusetts plans to upgrade crumbling roads and bridges and expand broadband coverage as state leaders chase after billions of dollars in additional federal grant money.

“We haven’t seen anything like this since the New Deal,” said Frank Callahan, president of the Massachusetts Building Trades Council, which represents union construction workers. “It’s opened up a massive amount of federal money for infrastructure projects unlike we’ve ever seen.”

Phases of work

During a House Transportation and Infrastructure committee hearing on Sept. 20, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is moving into a new phase as it enters its third year after legislative passage.

“One way to think of it is, if our first year was about the bill passing, and the second year was about the programs launching, this (third year) is about the money moving so we can get the dirt flying,” he said. “That’s really what we’re focused on in this third and fourth year.”

Meanwhile, states are moving forward where they can, looking for revenue sources that can provide local matches to federal grants, planning and designing infrastructure improvements, and getting personnel and workers in place.

Missouri officials announced earlier this month that they have formed an advisory council to inform planning for broadband infrastructure work in the state.

Members of the council, made up of government and industry representatives from all corners of the state, will offer input on Missouri’s plans for improving broadband infrastructure from the state’s expected allotment of $1.7 billion, the third largest awarded from the federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program. They will provide feedback on program designs and identify connectivity needs across the state.

“Hearing from citizens, stakeholders and communities is absolutely vital to developing effective plans for broadband expansion,” said BJ Tanksley, director of the state’s Office of Broadband Development, in a statement.

The four-campus University of Missouri system, the largest higher education institution in the state, also has been helping Missouri officials prepare for the influx of funding by gathering information about broadband needs through community meetings, developing interactive data maps about connectivity and analyzing internet usage by underrepresented segments of the population.

“It’s a great example of hands-on, local work with a big impact,” said Alison Copeland, the UM System’s deputy chief engagement officer, in August.

Barriers to starting projects

While construction industry groups and fiscal watchdogs welcome the infrastructure investments, they say regulatory hurdles and other delays such as supply chain issues are slowing the approval process for major projects and eating away at the value of the law’s promised investments.

One issue is that federal labor requirements written into the law steer a sizable amount of the work to organized unions through so-called project labor agreements, which critics like Brubeck say edge out nonunion contractors from bidding on those projects.

Critics say another provision of the infrastructure law that’s stalling progress is a requirement that construction companies source most of their materials in the U.S. instead of purchasing them overseas.

“The problem is that the Biden administration is requiring things to be built in the United States with things that aren’t being built here,” said John Drake, vice president of transportation, infrastructure and supply chain policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which also tracks infrastructure spending.

Another issue is a nationwide skilled labor shortage that has many employers looking for workers. Brubeck, with Associated Builders and Contractors, said the industry estimates it will need another 530,000 construction workers a year to meet current demand.

“The Biden administration is going to run into roadblocks down the road because there isn’t enough labor for these projects,” Brubeck said.

Along with the rising costs of construction materials, supply chain issues and other complications, those issues could lead to additional delays in breaking ground on projects funded through the new law, which he says will drive up costs for taxpayers.

“The longer it takes to get projects approved, the longer it will take to break ground,” he said, “and the more it’s going to cost everyone in the long run.”

Buttigieg, in the September House hearing, acknowledged there will likely be delays in projects that could result in increased costs.

“The reality of the increase in projects is real. It’s a concern, it’s one of the main threats of the successful implementation of this bill, and it’s something we think about every day,” he said.

But Buttigieg also insisted that there’s still movement with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, even if many projects aren’t off the ground yet.

“Nobody’s sitting around, and neither are the dollars,” he said.