Interior Department will put $1.7 billion toward fulfilling tribal water rights settlements

Feb 25, 2022
Some tribes have been waiting on the funding for decades. They'll put it toward shoring up water infrastructure on their reservations.
A water pump is repaired outside of a home on the Navajo Nation on Dec. 16, 2021 in Thoreau, New Mexico.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Cities can lessen economic impact of climate change with green infrastructure

Jan 18, 2022
The alternative? $31 trillion in lost GDP worldwide.
Parts of the Philippines have struggled to find the balance between preserving natural ecosystems and investing in man-made alternatives.
Jes Aznar/ Getty Images

What we get wrong about the energy grid

Dec 28, 2021
We should focus on changing demand for electric power when planning for the future.
During a period of extreme cold in February, people took shelter at a store in Houston that was transformed into a warming station. The drop in temperature caused a widespread and prolonged power outage.
Photo by Go Nakamura/Getty Images

What makes federal infrastructure jobs "good-paying"?

Dec 6, 2021
The idea that federally funded construction projects must pay a minimum "prevailing wage" goes back to a 1931 law.
The Department of Labor is preparing updates to the regulations of federally funded construction jobs. Above, a crew resurfaces a road in Alhambra, California.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Leaders in the construction industry anticipate influx of federal funds

Dec 1, 2021
Those in the business of building roads and bridges expect a turnaround once money starts to flow from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Other areas of the construction industry, like bridges and highways, could be in line to get a boost from federal money.
Getty Images

Checking the roads and bridges to grandmother's house

Nov 24, 2021
What will the infrastructure bill do for 60-year-old Putty Hill Avenue Bridge — which supports 17,000 vehicles daily — and similar sites?
Each day, more than 17,000 vehicles use Maryland's 60-year-old Putty Hill Avenue Bridge, which has suffered wear and tear.
Nancy Marshall-Genzer

The infrastructure bill is on the president’s desk. What’s in it for rural America?

Nov 15, 2021
Rural states with the most work to do on those fronts — like Alaska, Wyoming, Montana and Vermont — will receive the most funding per capita.
Street lights line an unpaved road in Kivalina, Alaska. Alaska is among the rural states to receive the highest per capita funding from the $1 trillion infrastructure bill.
Joe Raedle via Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

When will we see the economic impact of new infrastructure spending?

Nov 8, 2021
There are shorter- and longer-term projects in Biden's $1 trillion plan. State and local governments will influence how it’s spent.
President Biden's $1 trillion plan invests in long-term infrastructure change, although state and local officials will have plenty of say in how the money is spent.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds via Getty Images

What will the clean energy transition look like?

Oct 28, 2021
The road to a clean, affordable and reliable power grid won’t be straightforward.
"If you look at where wind and solar need to be placed in this country, it's mainly in the Midwest, and your demand centers are on the coasts," said Gary Kruse, managing director of research at Arbo.
Spencer Platt via Getty Images

Biden administration restoring climate-impact rules that could delay infrastructure plans

Oct 7, 2021
The Trump administration had rolled them back, delighting industry and worrying environmentalists.
The Biden administration will be restoring a requirement for infrastructure projects to be evaluated for their climate impact. Above, a crew resurfaces a road in June in Alhambra, California.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images