U.S. Infrastructure Is Stuck In The 20th Century

On March 10, 2025, the U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy rescinded certain memos issued by the Biden Administration which added guidelines to federal infrastructure project spending. These guidelines included special considerations for so-called “social justice” issues, environmental concerns, and equity-first design.

It was another step in the Trump Administration’s efforts to dismantle the infrastructure legacy of the Biden era. Love him or hate him, President Biden passed historic legislation to rebuild America’s infrastructure and manufacturing strength through the IIJA and the IRA. 

The press release sent from the Transportation Secretary’s office said that these policies had, “no basis in statute,” and in that description alone it may be technically correct, however, it falls flat in its overall intent. 

Make no mistake, before the Biden memo’s were issued, infrastructure spending was political. Where a road gets built has always been based in a political ideology. During the great expansion of the national interstate system post-World War Two, many tens of thousands of people were displaced from their homes in the name of progress, but the demographic make up of the displaced signals clearly what political ideology was at the wheel.

In the decades since, an overwhelming amount of research has proven that the decisions made during that time caused irreparable harm, not only to the communities that were razed to make room for highways, but to the very economic fabric of those cities. As we entered the new century, progress in this area was beginning to be made. The mistakes of the past were starting to be undone.

During the crafting of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), there was initially $20 billion earmarked for projects set to restore some of these communities nationwide, strengthening cities once more. When the bill eventually passed, it was knocked down to only $1 billion, but still it was progress.

The fact of the matter is this: reverting to the status quo is a political choice. It’s a political choice that says we would prefer not to learn from the past, but to continue on, ignorant of our predecessors mistakes, and ensure that another generation must suffer the consequences.

See you on the road.