/ Globe PR Wire /
The story of American infrastructure begins with remarkable ambition. Generations ago, the U.S. government carved highways and built bridges that connected a country. Yet somewhere between that grand beginning and today’s reality, something crucial was forgotten: the mundane but essential task of maintaining these achievements.
The 2024 collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge momentarily focused national attention on America’s deteriorating infrastructure. Yet within days, public concern faded, highlighting a deeper problem than just aging bridges and roads. Despite the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s $1.2 trillion allocation, the scale of repairs needed across the United States vastly outstrips available public resources.
Private capital firms like American Infrastructure Partners are stepping in to fill this funding gap with an approach to infrastructure investment designed to meet needs that public funding alone cannot address, says Bob Hellman, the firm’s CEO.
“Private infrastructure capital allows governments to utilize funds from private investors to cover the costs of the repair or replacement of infrastructure projects, shifting their scarce resources to other community needs,” wrote Hellman in a recent op-ed.
“Other than our citizens themselves, nothing’s more vital to the efficient functioning of America’s economy than our infrastructure. And we’re up against a growing crisis without the financial means to solve it. For savvy investors and effective government bodies, private infrastructure offers a win-win solution that will grow in acceptance and volume in coming years.”
America’s Infrastructure Funding Crisis
According to recent data from the American Road & Transportation Builders Association, nearly 221,800 U.S. bridges require major repair or replacement. These structures span over 6,100 miles: roughly equivalent to every mile of urban and rural interstate in California, Florida, and Illinois combined. Among these, 42,067 bridges are rated in poor condition and classified as “structurally deficient.”
The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates the current bridge repair backlog at $125 billion. Addressing this backlog would require increasing annual bridge rehabilitation spending from $14.4 billion to $22.7 billion—a 58% increase. At current investment rates, completing necessary repairs would take until 2071, with additional deterioration compounding the problem each year.
The Maintenance Dilemma
America’s infrastructure crisis stems from a fundamental governance and prioritization problem. While the federal fuel tax generates approximately $40 billion annually, less than 60% actually funds highway and bridge maintenance. Political incentives favor new construction projects with ribbon-cutting ceremonies over essential maintenance work.
“While the federal government financed the construction of the interstate highway system, it failed to establish mechanisms for long-term maintenance,” Hellman notes. “The Highway Trust Fund offers some money toward repairs, but it has repeatedly proven insufficient for the scale of the need.”
This problem creates a classic “tragedy of the commons” scenario where infrastructure is treated as a free public good until it deteriorates beyond repair. Rather than implementing sustainable funding models that capture a portion of economic gains from infrastructure investments, U.S. policy has largely allowed critical assets to deteriorate while focusing on politically expedient new projects.
The Private Infrastructure Solution
American Infrastructure Partners has developed a model that directly addresses both the funding gap and maintenance neglect through its platform-based approach to infrastructure investment.
The company’s model fundamentally changes how infrastructure projects are funded, built, and maintained over their life cycle. The company operates dedicated platform entities with specialized expertise and capital focused on specific infrastructure categories.
United Bridge Partners, American Infrastructure Partners’ bridge-focused platform, exemplifies this approach. With over 40 professionals specifically focused on bridge construction and rehabilitation, UBP has completed four bridges valued over $100 million each within four years. By comparison, the rest of the country completed only 10 such projects during the same period.
Ensuring Long-Term Maintenance
What distinguishes American Infrastructure Partner’s model is not just its ability to deliver projects on time and under budget — though that’s significant — but its built-in mechanisms to ensure ongoing maintenance.
UBP projects create a sustainable funding model where user fees actually get reinvested in maintaining the asset throughout its entire lifecycle.
Unlike public projects where maintenance funding can be diverted or deprioritized after the initial construction phase, private infrastructure operators have direct financial incentives to maintain assets in optimal condition. Their revenue stream depends on continuing functionality, creating alignment between financial returns and public benefit.
Case Study: The Jordan Bridge
UBP’s Chesapeake, Virginia, Jordan Bridge project demonstrates this comprehensive approach. When the original 1928 bridge deteriorated beyond repair, the city lacked funds for replacement, estimated by the state at over $200 million.
UBP stepped in with a private financing solution. The company removed the old bridge for $3 million, eliminating a financial burden for Chesapeake and Portsmouth, then built the new South Norfolk Jordan Bridge for $143 million — significantly under the state’s estimate.
Beyond cost savings, the project transformed Elizabeth River Park into a community hub with modern amenities. The bridge now carries approximately 11,000 vehicles daily and serves as a crucial access point to the Norfolk Naval Shipyard.
And the bridge’s user fee structure ensures ongoing maintenance funding, eliminating the deferred maintenance cycle that plagues publicly funded infrastructure.
Efficiency Through Expertise
Public infrastructure projects frequently face massive cost overruns. Boston’s Big Dig exceeded its budget by 600%, California’s High-Speed Rail shows overruns of more than 200%, and the Gordie Howe Bridge stands 68% over initial projections.
These inefficiencies often stem from limited expertise at the local level. Municipal governments might manage one major bridge project per decade, limiting their ability to develop project management experience. In contrast, platform companies maintain dedicated teams with continuous project experience, enabling more efficient decision-making and creating financial pressure to complete projects on schedule.
“The U.S. no longer has a government that can reliably build things on time and under budget,” Hellman notes. “Our institutions don’t prioritize maintenance well. Private infrastructure solves both problems by bringing specialized expertise to project delivery and creating sustainable funding models for long-term maintenance.”
The Future of Infrastructure Funding
The Federal Highway Administration reports that 42% of U.S. bridges now exceed their 50-year design life. This aging infrastructure requires systematic rehabilitation or replacement beyond what public funding can address.
As infrastructure funding gaps persist, private capital will likely play an increasingly important role. The platform-based approach pioneered by companies like American Infrastructure Partners offers a replicable model for addressing these challenges efficiently and sustainably.
“The funds simply don’t exist in our current government to fix the scale of problems with our infrastructure,” says Hellman. “Private infrastructure provides communities with safe, updated infrastructure while establishing sustainable funding mechanisms that ensure these assets are properly maintained for generations to come.”
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