Biden’s plan kick-starts some 4,300 projects

WASHINGTON — Six months after the signing of President Joe Biden’s $1 trillion infrastructure package, the government said Monday there are 4,300 projects underway with more than $110 billion in funding announced — milestones the administration is publicly heralding as midterm politics intensify.

White House senior adviser Mitch Landrieu, the former mayor of New Orleans, said the roads, bridges and other projects are laying “a foundation for tremendous growth into the future.” Landrieu said Biden and members of his administration have made more than 125 trips to highlight the bipartisan investments in infrastructure.

He declined to predict how much the storytelling will resonate with voters as construction starts.

Landrieu told reporters that this is a “wonderful down payment” on infrastructure needs in the country that total roughly $7 trillion.

Infrastructure was a rare source of bipartisan unity as Biden struck a deal that attracted several Republican senators. The law contains money to expand internet access, replace lead water pipes, and for rail and public transit projects and investments to address climate change.

The infrastructure spending is also one area where political leaders will have to share credit with each other.

Governors and mayors are responsible for 90% of the expenditures in the law, while the federal government accounts for 10% of the spending.

The administration has tried to help state and local governments compete for the money, with Landrieu noting that even GOP critics are generally eager to get the funding.