5 States That Would Get the Most Cash Under the New Infrastructure Bill

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Highway traffic in Los Angeles, California
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The long-negotiated infrastructure package supported by President Joe Biden would provide a literal trillion dollars in funding for all kinds of projects, from bridges to public transportation to supplying high-speed internet, if Congress passes it.

The package has already received Senate approval, and the House of Representatives could pass it by fall. And if Biden signs the legislation into law, some states would score a lot more of that cash than others.

Factors such as population, number of cities and existing infrastructure all influence how much each state could get.

A new analysis from CNBC shows how much money each state could expect to see in five different categories: highways, bridges, public transportation, water and other projects.

Following are the states that are expected to get the biggest windfalls from Biden’s infrastructure package.

5. Illinois

Chicago, Illinois
Kristopher Kettner / Shutterstock.com

Estimated total amount the state would receive: $17.81 billion

Illinois is expected to receive $9.8 billion for highways, $1.4 billion for bridges, $4 billion for public transportation, $1.7 billion for water and $914 million for other projects.

Restoring bridges and roads could take up a significant chunk of that spending. “Illinois has 2,374 bridges and over 6,218 miles of highway in poor condition,” according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

In the “other” category, at least $100 million would be made available to help low-income Illinoisans afford internet service, $149 million would fund electric vehicle charging stations and $22 million would go toward cyberattack protection.

4. Florida

Highway in Florida Keys
GagliardiPhotography / Shutterstock.com

Estimated total amount the state would receive: $19.1 billion

Florida is expected to receive $13.1 billion for highways, $245 million for bridges, $2.6 billion for public transportation, $1.6 billion for water and $1.6 billion for other projects.

As the Orlando Sentinel noted, Florida has more miles of coastline than any state except Alaska, so some funding would be used to guard against the impacts of climate change. Other money would be spent on ports, wastewater systems and many of the same things as in other states — modernizing the electric grid, enhancing public transportation, and bridge and road repair.

3. New York

New York viewed from Brooklyn Bridge.
491615143 / Shutterstock.com

Estimated total amount the state would receive: $26.92 billion

New York is expected to receive $11.6 billion for highways, $1.9 billion for bridges, $9.8 billion for public transportation, $2.6 billion for water and $1 billion for other projects.

New York would get the most funding of any state for public transportation projects — perhaps unsurprising for one of the most-populated states.

New York, New Jersey and Connecticut combined could get nearly a quarter of the infrastructure bill’s total spending for public transportation, the CNBC analysis found.

Specific transportation projects under consideration include the Penn Access project to connect the eastern Bronx to Pennsylvania Station, Amtrak train tunnels and renovations to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and the Cross Bronx Expressway, according to Crain’s New York Business.

2. Texas

Fort Worth Texas
Barbara Smyers / Shutterstock.com

Estimated total amount the state would receive: $35.44 billion

Texas is expected to receive $26.9 billion for highways alone — more than any other state, and about as much as New York would get for all types of infrastructure projects combined.

That money could be used to fix up more than 19,000 miles of highways that are in poor condition, “costing Texans an average of $709 per year in vehicle repair and other expenses,” according to the Houston Chronicle.

The state could also get $537 million for bridges, $3.3 billion for public transportation, $2.9 billion for water and $1.8 billion for other projects.

1. California

San Francisco, California
IM_photo / Shutterstock.com

Estimated total amount the state would receive: $44.56 billion

California is expected to receive $25.3 billion for highways, $4.2 billion for bridges, $9.5 billion for public transportation, $3.5 billion for water and $2.1 billion for other projects. That’s more money for bridges and water projects than any other state.

Specifically, passenger rail could get $66 billion, safety programs for pedestrian walkways and highways could get $11 billion and clean drinking water programs could get $55 billion, according to The Los Angeles Times. More than $3.3 billion would fund protections against wildfires.

There’s also talk of using funds to support a high-speed rail project connecting San Francisco and Los Angeles.

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