How The Infrastructure Investment And Jobs Act Will Impact Tennessee

Image Credit: artistmac / CC

By Samuel Stebbins, 24/7 Wall St. via The Center Square –

In today’s polarized political climate, few issues in Washington receive bipartisan support. Investment in the nation’s infrastructure, however, is a notable exception – and with good reason. A 2021 report from the American Society of Civil Engineers assigned U.S. public infrastructure an average letter grade of “C-” based on performance in 17 major categories, including roads, drinking water, transit, dams, and bridges. According to the report, the U.S. needs to invest an additional $2.6 trillion in infrastructure over the next 10 years.

To help address this shortfall, President Joe Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law in November 2021. The bill 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. (Here is a look at Biden’s approval rating in every state.)

Much of this money will be distributed to state governments and has already been earmarked for certain projects, including bridge and highway repair, electric vehicle charging station construction, broadband internet expansion, airport improvements, cybersecurity, and wildfire protection. While the largest states by population are the ones receiving the most federal dollars, they are not necessarily the states where federal infrastructure spending will have the largest impact.

Tennessee is expected to receive $8.0 billion federal infrastructure investment. Adjusting for population, this comes out to about $1,151 per capita, the ninth lowest among the 50 states.

Federal highway aid will account for 72.9% of infrastructure investment in the state, more than any other category, followed by water infrastructure, which will account for 8.8% of federal spending, and public transportation, at 7.9%.

All data in this story was compiled by U.S. News & World Report in its article, The States Benefiting the Most From the Infrastructure Deal.

Rank	State	Per capita federal infrastructure aid ($)	Total federal infrastructure aid ($B)	Largest investment category	2nd largest investment category	3rd largest investment category
1	Alaska	6,721	4.9	Federal Highway Aid	Airports	Water Infrastructure
2	Wyoming	4,479	2.6	Federal Highway Aid	Water Infrastructure	Bridge Replacements and Repairs
3	Montana	3,558	3.9	Federal Highway Aid	Water Infrastructure	Bridge Replacements and Repairs
4	Vermont	3,458	2.2	Federal Highway Aid	Water Infrastructure	Bridge Replacements and Repairs
5	North Dakota	3,390	2.6	Federal Highway Aid	Water Infrastructure	Bridge Replacements and Repairs
6	South Dakota	3,210	2.8	Federal Highway Aid	Water Infrastructure	Bridge Replacements and Repairs
7	West Virginia	2,452	4.4	Federal Highway Aid	Bridge Replacements and Repairs	Water Infrastructure
8	Delaware	2,401	2.4	Federal Highway Aid	Water Infrastructure	Airports
9	Rhode Island	2,345	2.6	Federal Highway Aid	Water Infrastructure	Public Transportation
10	Hawaii	1,800	2.6	Federal Highway Aid	Water Infrastructure	Bridge Replacements and Repairs
11	New Mexico	1,759	3.7	Federal Highway Aid	Public Transportation	Water Infrastructure
12	Maine	1,736	2.4	Federal Highway Aid	Water Infrastructure	Public Transportation
13	Connecticut	1,675	6.0	Federal Highway Aid	Public Transportation	Bridge Replacements and Repairs
14	Arkansas	1,648	5.0	Federal Highway Aid	Water Infrastructure	Bridge Replacements and Repairs
15	Idaho	1,645	3.0	Federal Highway Aid	Water Infrastructure	Bridge Replacements and Repairs
16	Iowa	1,593	5.1	Federal Highway Aid	Water Infrastructure	Bridge Replacements and Repairs
17	Louisiana	1,557	7.3	Federal Highway Aid	Bridge Replacements and Repairs	Water Infrastructure
18	Nebraska	1,550	3.0	Federal Highway Aid	Water Infrastructure	Bridge Replacements and Repairs
19	Mississippi	1,507	4.5	Federal Highway Aid	Water Infrastructure	Bridge Replacements and Repairs
20	New Hampshire	1,487	2.0	Federal Highway Aid	Water Infrastructure	Bridge Replacements and Repairs
21	Missouri	1,464	9.0	Federal Highway Aid	Water Infrastructure	Public Transportation
22	Oklahoma	1,458	5.8	Federal Highway Aid	Water Infrastructure	Public Transportation
23	New Jersey	1,454	13.5	Federal Highway Aid	Public Transportation	Bridge Replacements and Repairs
24	Kentucky	1,439	6.5	Federal Highway Aid	Water Infrastructure	Bridge Replacements and Repairs
25	Illinois	1,390	17.8	Federal Highway Aid	Public Transportation	Water Infrastructure
26	Alabama	1,387	7.0	Federal Highway Aid	Water Infrastructure	Public Transportation
27	Pennsylvania	1,369	17.8	Federal Highway Aid	Public Transportation	Bridge Replacements and Repairs
28	New York	1,333	26.9	Federal Highway Aid	Public Transportation	Water Infrastructure
29	Massachusetts	1,327	9.3	Federal Highway Aid	Public Transportation	Bridge Replacements and Repairs
30	Kansas	1,307	3.8	Federal Highway Aid	Water Infrastructure	Public Transportation
31	Indiana	1,303	8.8	Federal Highway Aid	Water Infrastructure	Public Transportation
32	Nevada	1,301	4.0	Federal Highway Aid	Public Transportation	Water Infrastructure
33	Oregon	1,265	5.4	Federal Highway Aid	Public Transportation	Water Infrastructure
34	Wisconsin	1,234	7.3	Federal Highway Aid	Water Infrastructure	Public Transportation
35	Texas	1,216	35.4	Federal Highway Aid	Public Transportation	Water Infrastructure
36	Utah	1,209	4.0	Federal Highway Aid	Public Transportation	Water Infrastructure
37	Maryland	1,198	7.4	Federal Highway Aid	Public Transportation	Water Infrastructure
38	South Carolina	1,195	6.1	Federal Highway Aid	Water Infrastructure	Public Transportation
39	Minnesota	1,192	6.8	Federal Highway Aid	Public Transportation	Water Infrastructure
40	Virginia	1,170	10.1	Federal Highway Aid	Public Transportation	Water Infrastructure
41	Georgia	1,152	12.3	Federal Highway Aid	Public Transportation	Water Infrastructure
42	Tennessee	1,151	8.0	Federal Highway Aid	Water Infrastructure	Public Transportation
43	California	1,127	44.6	Federal Highway Aid	Public Transportation	Bridge Replacements and Repairs
44	Washington	1,115	8.6	Federal Highway Aid	Public Transportation	Water Infrastructure
45	Ohio	1,087	12.8	Federal Highway Aid	Water Infrastructure	Public Transportation
46	Michigan	1,070	10.8	Federal Highway Aid	Water Infrastructure	Public Transportation
47	Colorado	1,068	6.2	Federal Highway Aid	Public Transportation	Water Infrastructure
48	Arizona	1,022	7.3	Federal Highway Aid	Public Transportation	Water Infrastructure
49	North Carolina	996	10.4	Federal Highway Aid	Water Infrastructure	Public Transportation
50	Florida	887	19.1	Federal Highway Aid	Public Transportation	Water Infrastructure