Sens. John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer showed leadership by supporting the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. This measured and fiscally responsible legislation will make our state’s economy more competitive by making a generational investment in our roads, bridges, highways, and other physical infrastructure needed to move products in and out of our state.
It likely doesn’t come to a surprise to many North Dakotans that there are over 440 bridges and 830 miles of highway in poor condition here. And over the last decade, commute times have increased by 10%, with average yearly road repairs costing $410 per driver. Once passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, the bill will help fix these fundamental flaws in our infrastructure. For example, it will bring $1.7 billion to North Dakota for road and bridge repairs and be the single largest dedicated bridge investment since the construction of the interstate highway system.
This is good news for our North Dakota manufacturers, too. Not only do Case IH and other equipment manufacturers rely on sound infrastructure to efficiently ship products, but our industry also supports 20,900 family-sustaining jobs here and contributes $2.4 billion a year to the state economy. These investments can also create more jobs, with one analysis recently showing up to 500,000 new U.S. manufacturing jobs would be created within a few years thanks to this legislation.
By voting for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Hoeven and Cramer made the right choice for North Dakota families, manufacturers, and our economy.
Scott Harris is vice president of CaseIH North America and AEM board member.
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This letter does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Forum's editorial board nor Forum ownership.
