It’s time to accelerate modernizing America’s infrastructure

There’s an old saying about America’s transportation system, “if it rolls, floats, or flies, it comes through Chicago.” As a member of Congress on the congressional committee that funds transportation and housing infrastructure, I’m proud that the city I represent is so integral to our nation’s transportation system. But the infrastructure that has been so critical to my city, and our country’s success, is quickly becoming obsolete, and replacing it is taking too long.

In its 2021 report card, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave the U.S. infrastructure system a grade of C-. That report card noted that 43% of our public roadways are in poor or mediocre condition, and that every two minutes in America a water main breaks, resulting in six billion gallons of water lost daily.

We are seeing the same story in Chicago. Metra, the Chicago commuter rail system, announced in January that 50% of its 446 bridges are more than 100 years old, and another 30% are more than 75 years old. While these older bridges are currently safe, they have surpassed their functional lifespan and are increasingly expensive to repair and maintain.

The impact of deteriorating infrastructure is not limited to the communities where it resides. As Maryland Governor Wes Moore effectively explained in this newspaper last year, America’s infrastructure is all connected. Moore pointed to the economic ripple effects of the tragic Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse reaching well beyond Baltimore. The bridge was the main thoroughfare for getting products up and down the I-95 corridor, and its collapse severed a link in the supply chain that businesses throughout the East Coast and Midwest relied on.

In November 2021, help was on the way to modernize America’s infrastructure. Congress passed the largest infrastructure bill in decades, authorizing $1.2 trillion in infrastructure spending. This funding was meant to repair and modernize all aspects of America’s infrastructure and get our country building again.

So why, three and a half years after the bill was passed, are Americans not enjoying gleaming new bridges and less time in traffic? It is because, over the last fifty years, America’s ability to build infrastructure has dramatically slowed, leading to increased costs and delays.

The reason for this snail-pace approach to building is complex and rooted in good intentions. Complex zoning laws were meant to organize cities; environmental requirements were meant to protect natural habitats; requirements to buy building materials made in America were meant to support American labor; and the list goes on. But these well-meaning rules have created a regulatory web so thick that cutting through it takes enormous amounts of time and money.

The examples of delay are all around us. New York’s Second Avenue Subway Line Project was first allocated funding in 2000 to build 8.5 miles of subway to connect parts of Harlem to Manhattan. Twenty-five years and nearly $4.5 billion later, the line only has 1.8 miles of track and three new stations.

In Chicago, a Project Study Group was assembled in 2013 to complete a planning and engineering study for the redevelopment of Lake Shore Drive, a scenic but deteriorating seven-mile roadway along the Chicago lakefront that was built in the 1930s through New Deal programs. Last year, 11 years after it started, the study was released and widely criticized as insufficient. The finalization of plans and the beginning of construction are still years and billions of dollars away.

Barriers to building are not consigned only to transportation; housing suffers from serious bottlenecks as well. Homelessness is at its highest levels, rents increasingly comprise more than 30% of family budgets, and home ownership is out of reach for most. Freddie Mac estimates we need 3.7 million additional housing units to meet demand because building has not kept pace.

These project costs and timelines would not be as concerning if this was always the norm in America. But that is not the case. In 1930, the Empire State Building was built in one year and 45 days. One year later, construction started on the Hoover Dam. It took five years to construct and was completed two years ahead of schedule. After WWII, thanks in part to the GI Bill, America built millions of new homes, with a 1950 Time Magazine highlighting one famous builder who built “a new house every 15 minutes.”

There are some glimmers of hope. In 2023, when a piece of I-95 collapsed outside of Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania DOT rebuilt the interstate in 12 days months ahead of schedule. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro commended decreased construction permitting timelines and creativity in finding cheap and accessible building materials as a few reasons for the superspeed rebuild. On the housing front, states including California, Colorado, and Massachusetts have led much-needed reforms to accelerate construction and reduce costs.

I am committed to pushing for more federal investment in our national infrastructure. But to maximize our investment, government bodies from Congress to local zoning boards must commit to breaking down barriers that are preventing infrastructure progress. Doing so will benefit all Americans and get our country back to building.

Rep. Mike Quigley has represented Illinois’ 5th district for more than 13 years. He serves on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development.

Originally published in The Washington Times: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/mar/26/time-accelerate-modernizing-americas-infrastructure/