Recently, two pieces of legislation were passed regarding federal funding for certain construction projects. Mainly impacting the amount of funding, these bills can change the future of the construction industry. These bills are the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Read on to learn a little bit more about the impacts of the IIJA and IRA bills.
Current Construction Issues
Due to Covid, inflation, supply chain and labor issues, the Department of Transportation delayed some projects. In fact, the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) created a survey to find how big the impacts actually were. According to the informal survey, about one third of states were dealing with delays from these issues. Luckily, about half the states were on time with their projects. This is an encouraging number and will hopefully be increased with the passing of the IIJA and IRA bills.
IIJA and IRA Impacts
Although these are young bills, there are three initial positive impacts to highlight. First, a major increase in federal funding. For example, the current federal funding for states is up about 15 percent compared to last year. Unfortunately, inflation has been cutting some of the budget increases. Therefore, the second impact helps out businesses who want to upgrade their equipment but have been hurt by inflation. The Department of Energy will offer up to 50% of the costs to upgrade. Normally, there have been punishments from not meeting certain standards, but now there are incentives. Lastly, these bills will help combine standards for the industry. As environmental impacts are felt like never before, it is important to take them seriously. In conclusion, the IIJA and IRA bills hope to get projects back on the road and be environmentally friendly at the same time.
IIJA and IRA Expert?
At Elston Materials, we are a proud green company. In fact, we sell LEED Certified concrete blocks with almost half recycled content. Our goal is to build a better future.
