Reliable, strong infrastructure is a key to the foundation of a successful nation, and the funding opportunities provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) enacted in 2021 offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform communities nationwide.

WSP is partnering with its clients and its communities to ensure they have the latest information about federal funding support and resources, and to provide solutions for vital questions, such as:

• What are the right investments to ensure communities have the resources needed to build a better future?
• Do we have the right strategies to best leverage our current and future resources?
• How can WSP help ensure clients are provided with an equitable approach to the delivery of all resources?

WSP has been analyzing the pending funding opportunities that will support visionary, multimodal long-term investments and transform U.S. infrastructure.

“The clock is ticking and every day is valuable,” said Caroline Decker, senior vice president of federal government affairs at WSP. “Already, more than $100 billion in infrastructure funding has become available through existing federal programs. But because there are many new programs created in the BIL, different agencies are still building out those programs.”

She said the Congressional Budget Office predicts that spending will peak between fiscal years 2025 and 2027.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has sponsored multiple information sessions that are providing essential information about the roll out of BIL. The White House has also published a guidebook that provides further insights into the key points and funding opportunities outlined in the law.

“Don't wait for funding notices,” Decker said. “Now is the time for agencies to position themselves and analyze every opportunity that exists to locate the funding needed to get projects moving in the right direction.”

This is the first article in a six-part series offering a sector-by-sector review of what's been happening with BIL funding, and how to make the most of these opportunities. This series covers the BIL’s impact on:

• Part 1: Climate, Resilience & Sustainability (CRS) and Equity
• Part 2: Highways, Bridges and Electric Vehicles
• Part 3: Transit and Rail
• Part 4: Water
• Part 5: Energy
• Part 6: Aviation and Maritime Infrastructure

The BIL is earmarking $50 billion for resilience-related provisions that will help communities overcome the effects of climate change.

The Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) grant program, for example, has added eligibility for projects that increase the resiliency of the transportation system and improve emergency response. The Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-saving Transportation (PROTECT) program creates new opportunities for agencies to plan for and build more resilient infrastructure. And the new Healthy Streets Program has authorized $500 million for projects that reduce stormwater runoff, flood risks and heat impacts on infrastructure and road users.

“This creates an opportunity to more completely address concerns like rainfall flooding, storm surge or stormwater runoff, as well as other natural impacts to infrastructure that road users must face,” said Michael Flood, U.S. resilience practice leader at WSP. “There is a clear focus on trying to provide better outcomes for weather events, in particular.”

The law includes a $27 billion program for power grid infrastructure resiliency and reliability, which makes available a number of beneficial programs, including grid infrastructure reliability competitive grants, which will fund projects that make grids more resilient and reliable in the face of extreme weather or natural disasters; energy improvement in rural or remote areas; and rural and municipal cybersecurity grants for communities that lack the resources to maintain their cybersecurity systems and better address cybersecurity threats.

The Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity / Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (RAISE/BUILD) local and regional project assistance program will provide $7.5 billion in competitive grants to fund projects that address critical concerns for transportation systems, like replacing culverts or preventing stormwater runoff, which often have a detrimental impact on infrastructure.

“The focus is on creating more resilient infrastructure and bring to an end the constant stream of negative environmental impacts we have seen over the past several decades,” Flood said. “It is now imperative to think proactively about ways to improve our resilience with our infrastructure investments and find ways to create critical lifelines for communities and economies across the country.”

Reducing potential damage to vital evacuation routes have been given a high priority in the law, making sure that critical elements that will enable fast and safe transportation during natural emergencies.

“The coastal infrastructure program is looking at ways to not only address the significant impacts of weather and climate, but also to address things like recurring maintenance,” Flood said. “Investments can be made to reduce the long-term maintenance cost by making targeted investments.

He noted that construction funding for projects typically falls to a funding share of 80 percent federal, with the remaining 20 percent covered by state and regional agencies.

“However, if an agency has a resilience improvement plan, the state and regional share drops to 13 percent,” Flood said. “Additionally, if that plan is combined with a rural infrastructure program and a long-range transportation plan, then that percentage actually drops even further down to 10 percent. So, obviously, there are a lot of very strong financial incentives for people explore these options.”

The law also includes a $6.5 billion Carbon Reduction Program, which explores ways to reduce transportation carbon emissions through infrastructure projects, such as:

• traffic monitoring, management, and control facilities or programs;
• public transportation;
• ·on-road and off-road trail facilities for pedestrians and bicyclists;
• advanced transportation and congestion management technologies;
• deployment of infrastructure-based intelligent transportation systems (ITS);
• capital improvements and the installation of vehicle to infrastructure communications equipment;
• replacing street lighting and traffic control devices with energy-efficient alternatives; and
• development of a carbon reduction strategy.

“Having a carbon reduction strategy in place when the first phase of this requirement is due in 2023 will be important for agencies that are pursuing funding through this particular program,” Flood said.  

One element that appears throughout the funding opportunities covered in the BIL is equity.

“I am extremely excited that equity is embedded throughout the law in a variety of different programs and activities,” said Heather Martin, senior lead equity consultant for the WSP Equity Center of Excellence. “Whether it’s the Healthy Streets Program, water assistance, lead reduction in drinking water, low-emission buses and public transit funding, projects should increase accessibility and create benefits for underserved, marginalized and disinvested communities.”

The signature program related to equity is the $1 billion Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program to address the harms of legacy infrastructure, particularly highways that were constructed through communities of color.

“We've already seen equity action plans released from all of the federal agencies calling for internal review of their own internal practices and programs to identify and correct inequities,” Martin said. “It will identify actions they could take to increase equity within their own agencies and within their programs and projects.”

The law and its funding is an important step in implementing Justice40, an initiative that aims to deliver 40 percent of the overall benefits of federal investments in climate and clean energy, including sustainable transportation, to disadvantaged communities.

The Council for Environmental Quality recently released a beta tool called the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool that is being used to identify disadvantaged communities, which is available for public review and comment.

“Another trend we're seeing influenced by Justice 40 is contract equity,” Martin said. “State and local governments and transit agencies are interested in increasing participation on infrastructure projects from historically underutilized businesses, to increase benefits returning to disadvantaged communities.”

In January, WSP launched its Equity Center of Excellence to bring a closer focus on equity within WSP to assist clients and evaluate ways to incorporate equity into various business processes and project prioritization.

“This is something that we are very excited and proud to launch, as we bring together all of the equity practitioners that we have throughout WSP,” Martin said.

Next Up: The BIL and Highways, Bridges and Electric Vehicles

(Note: These program details are updated through mid-July 2022.)

UN Climate Change Conference (Nov. 6-18)

WSP is all in for the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference (COP27) this year in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. The firm’s delegation is working in close collaboration with the UN Climate Champions team and numerous partners, including the International Coalition for Sustainable Infrastructure, Resilience Rising, Resilience First, the Coalition for Climate Resilient Investment and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure.

WSP is helping shape the discourse and presenting on a wide range of topics — the future of funding the net-zero transition, realizing infrastructure’s resilience dividend, mainstreaming nature-based solutions and integrating green infrastructure into grey — and supporting the Resilience Breakthroughs implementation labs across the spectrum of impact systems: food & agriculture, water & nature, human settlements, oceans and infrastructure.

Learn more about how WSP is activating its engagement at COP27, hybrid events you can register to attend, and the distinct suite of capabilities that make WSP a leader in climate, resilience & sustainability: https://www.wsp.com/en-us/campaigns/cop27

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