Abstract: For the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) EBP assessed the long-term effects of infrastructure investments on the national economy in the following categories: roadway, transit, bridge, inter-city passenger rail, water, electricity, airports and seaports and inland ports & waterways. We modeled two scenarios: Continuing to Act which assumed that spending appropriated for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) from 2022-2026 becomes the new baseline for annual capital investment through 2043 and Snapback which assumed IIJA’s authorized spending only continues through 2026. In 2027, infrastructure spending then reverts back to 2019 levels prior to passage of the IIJA and other major spending bills (inclusive of the Fast Act 2016-2020).
To evaluate each scenario the team of economists, along with subject matter experts from ASCE, estimated total needs for each infrastructure type and projected funding for the various infrastructure types under each scenario. The approach established the investment gaps for the various infrastructure types in ten- and twenty-year timeframes (2023- 2043) under each scenario.
In Phase 2 we estimated (1) the costs to industries and households due to inefficiencies in infrastructure as represented by the gaps and (2) the impacts of those costs to the US economy.
Best practices from this work and ongoing efforts in applying this approach with other clients will be presented.
Learning Objectives:
Attendees can expect to learn the following from this session:
Upon completion, participants will be able to understand the long-term effects of infrastructure investments on the national economy across various infrastructure sectors.
Upon completion, participants will be able to understand the relative impacts (costs and benefits) of the two modeled scenarios.
Upon completion, participants will be able to understand the best practices from this work and ongoing efforts in applying the economic analysis approach to other infrastructure (particularly transportation) projects.
