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White House releases state needs in infrastructure plan

President Joe Biden met with bipartisan lawmakers Monday to start negotiations on his infrastructure plans.

“I think everyone acknowledges we need significant increase in infrastructure.  It’s going to get down to what we call infrastructure,” he says. 

Biden told reporters infrastructure extends beyond roads and bridges and also needs to include safe drinking water and broadband access.

Monday, the White House also released state-by-state fact sheets highlighting the number of bridges and miles of road in each state in poor condition, the percentage of households without access to broadband, the billions of dollars required for water infrastructure, among other infrastructure needs.

The Rebuild Rural Coalition, which includes more than 250 rural and ag groups, is calling for bipartisan support and funding to specifically address rural infrastructure needs.  The coalition also wants the administration to leverage existing programs including rural development grants within the USDA.

The Michigan Agri-Business Association is one of those groups.  Chuck Lippstreu tells Brownfield bridge and highway problems in rural areas create substantial logistics problems for agribusinesses, especially those in the grain and feed sector.

“It crosses many different areas—roads, bridges, rail, waterways, broadband internet, water and wastewater infrastructure for small towns and rural communities,” he says.  “We have a historic opportunity to go big with infrastructure and to invest to solve some of these issues.”

Michigan received a D+ on the state’s infrastructure scorecard with more than 1,200 bridges and 7,300 miles of highway reported in poor condition.

Find other state needs here.