The IRA is in full effect

Investment Analysis Clubs Macro Economic Trends and Risks
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I am travelling and have gone from Las Vegas up into Idaho. Will be in Montana tomorrow. Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Idaho all doing major work on roads and over passes. Lots of caterpillar equipment. The IRA is keeping this economy strong. I can’t believe all the road work.

Andy

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This is construction season in the northern states that get real winter. So no surprise there.

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True Jerry but not like this. This is unbelievable, I have never seen this much work.

Andy

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A portion of I-35W (3 blocks from me) was rebuilt over four years–including during the winter (MN). So some projects will run year-round because they are multi-year projects. Thus, the stuff that can be done over the winter will happen then. What needs the warm weather will get done ASAP in order for the winter work to be able to be done in turn.

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I have been taking this route the last 3 years in a row to help with my mother. Most of the work I am seeing is new work. When you get up into Idaho and Montana they really do not have winter work because of the snow, It’s all summer work.

Andy

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The highway work you’re seeing that is in addition to normal seasonal work is probably due to the infrastructure bill rather than the IRA. The road money in the IRA was for neighborhood work and arterial roads.

DB2

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7

Is anybody else seeing abnormal amount of work than usual? If so this has to be a big shot in the arm for the economy. Right?

Andy

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8

Seems normal here in Wisconsin for the summer season.

DB2

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There is a tremendous amount of work being done in Michigan. Of course, the roads had been allowed to deteriorate for years, in favor of funding “other priorities”. The current Gov made repairing the roads a priority. I was considering taking a mid-week trip a couple weeks ago, but looked at traffic speeds on I-94 and saw about 3 jams due to the construction. Decided to postpone the trip a month, when most of the construction is done.

The (L&Ses) in Lansing were against the road work. They wanted to spend the money on more tax cuts for the “JCs”, but, since the voting districts in the state are no longer gerrymandered, they aren’t in control anymore.

Michigan Senate (L&Ses) list budget priorities

  • -Permanent tax relief for every Michigander from the projected $9.2 billion surplus.*
  • -Fixing roads and bridges with surplus funds instead of adding more debt.*
  • -Paying Michigan’s long-term debt to stabilize retirement funds.*
  • -Billions of dollars of long-term debt threaten the stability of retirement funds for state police troopers, teachers, and corrections officers.*
  • -Protecting neighborhoods.*
  • -Giving teachers and students the resources they need to improve student success. Student test scores dropped after forced remote learning during the pandemic.*
  • -Giving every school the resources they need to make buildings safe, and the support necessary to identify and address mental health problems as soon as they arise.*
  • -Improving aging state parks infrastructure.*

Of course, if you blow the entire surplus on tax cuts, the lower priorities, like roads and education, get nothing.

Steve

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I believe I saw an uptick in road infrastructure improvements in 2012, when the “picks and shovels” infrastructure projects, associated with the helicopter money, began to hit the ground.
Those projects, which had to be planned from the ground up, were prioritized and implemented; and seemed to continue for the last decade.
Now, I think I’m seeing some increased infrastructure upgrade and maintenance activity, on top of the picks and shovels activity, on the state highways and interstate highways.
It might be that the previously planned projects, were waiting for $ to come available. And now, with the IRA, they are funded?

It’s difficult to ascertain, cause there is lots of localized development (suburbs, water, sewer, streets, primary and secondary through ways, loops, etc) going on, too.

I watch this and it seems that the population growth has hit an inflection point in which infrastructure development is unable to keep up - in the high use areas.

:alien:
ralph

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I am pretty happy with the leadership Whitmer has shown, she’s been pretty consistent ( not perfect, of course ) with her messaging equaling her actions. And if gerrymandering has truly been brought under control, then the Michigan citizenry have a valid chance to have their vote/voice count. We’ll see how well we handle that responsibilty,lol, but things are looking pretty good in Michigan.

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12

My condo is second floor but the areas along side the small brook in front of buildings here flood every now and then in heavy rain. The neighbor who owns a house not in our association his entire yard floods. The problem is the brook/river flows through a pipe across the road and back again. The camp area next to him has a huge hill that shifts the river around the hill making the river road crosses necessary.

Since 1968 when the neighbor moved into his inlaws home and the condo was built he has plead endlessly to have the state fix the pipes which are too narrow for the flood waters.

Finally as of a week ago the thing was fixed. It was a huge job for something so minor. Telephone lines were moved to get the crane in. That took weeks. Trees were torn down. New banks were put in. Two pipes were run. An overflow pipe with fuel was put in place. This is a state road which made the funding the state.

Not a finger lifted or a dollar offered to do this job till this year.

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