Texas should get billions from the new infrastructure plan

The infrastructure plan that President Joe Biden plans to sign into law next week is expected to provide at least $35 billion to Texas, but it’s unclear exactly how the legislation will effect the Fort Worth area.

State and local officials said this week they do not know which projects will receive funding through the bill or when that funding will be available.

The bill includes $550 billion of new infrastructure spending nationwide over five years. The plan has funding to revitalize the nation’s roads and bridges, modernize the public transit systems, mitigate the effects of climate change and increase broadband access.

Based on formula funding, Texas is eligible to receive $26.9 billion for federal highway programs, according to the White House. The state can also expect to receive $537 million in bridge and road repairs over the next five years.

Texas should also receive approximately $1.2 billion over five years for infrastructure development for airports, and $3.3 billion over five years to improve public transportation options.

In some cases, it could take months or years for certain funding to reach state and local governments, said Joseph Kane, a fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program.

All Democrats in Texas’ Congressional delegation voted for the bill, while all Texas Republicans voted against the plan.

The Fort Worth government is still waiting to learn how the city specifically could benefit from the bill, according to spokesperson Michelle Gutt.

Arlington and Tarrant County are also waiting. Tarrant County officials are excited about the bill but do not “have any details yet as to what that’s going to look like,” spokesperson Bill Hanna said. In Arlington, “we’ve just got to figure out where and when” the infrastructure bill will make its impact, said Jay Warren, director of communication and legislative affairs.

“I look forward to working with our region to advance key infrastructure projects with the funding this bill will provide,” Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker said in a statement.

The money in the infrastructure bill is both formula funding and competitive funding. Formula funding is money that all states receive based on formulas developed by the federal government. Competitive funding is when eligible entities apply for funding.

It could take years for the federal government to provide competitive funding to state and local entities, said Kane from the Brookings Institution. In addition, precedent on similar legislation shows transportation funding could take months or years to reach local governments.

The wait is likely to be shorter for infrastructure projects that are already in the pipeline, Kane said.

“A lot of places, understandably, are kind of waiting in anticipation of ‘Well, when can we start hitting the shovels on the ground?’” Kane said. “I think probably the more straightforward projects that are already in the project pipeline — repaving projects or basic repair projects — those are probably going to be the first ones we will see across the country.”

Here are some of the main provisions in the bill, and where the state stands in receiving and distributing the money.

Transportation

The Texas Department of Transportation oversees the state’s highways, as well as the aviation, rail and public transportation systems.

TxDot does not know which projects will get the additional funding, according to a statement from TxDot spokesperson Bob Kaufman. It is likely the state will use funding for projects already a part of the department’s Unified Transportation Program, a 10-year transportation planning document.

Tarrant County has 323 projects under the Unified Transportation Program, including 119 where construction is underway or beginning soon. The city of Fort Worth has 114 projects under the program.

Broadband

Texas is expected to receive at least $100 million to help provide broadband coverage statewide.

The state is a “long way from knowing” how broadband funding from the bill will be distributed to individual counties, according to Kevin Lyons, spokesperson for the Texas Comptroller’s office.

The funding is tied to new data and map collection from the Federal Communications Commission, which Lyons said will not be finalized until mid-late 2022.

The White House said about 29% of Texans will be eligible for the Affordable Connectivity Fund, which will help low-income families afford internet access. The fund is a rebranded version of the Emergency Connectivity Fund, a program established during the pandemic that local Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Texas, helped launch.

The Affordable Connectivity Fund offers broadband discounts of $30 each month to eligible households, $20 lower than the monthly discounts in the Emergency Connectivity Fund. The new fund is for households living at or below 200% of the poverty line, a wider net than the emergency fund, which was for households at or below 135% of the poverty line.

Environment/Utilities

Texas is expected to receive $2.9 billion over five years to improve infrastructure statewide and $53 million to protect against wildfires. The bill also allocates an estimated $42 million to protect against cyberattacks.

The White House said the bill will allocate $3.5 billion to weatherize the nation’s energy infrastructure to reduce energy costs. It did not say how much of that money will go to Texas.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality — the state’s environmental agency — has not received any funding from the infrastructure bill and has no additional information, according to a statement.

The Public Utilities Commission of Texas, which regulates electric, water and telecommunication utilities, did not respond to a request for comment on the bill.