On Wednesday, Rep. Kathy Castor (FL14) updated Tampa Bay area residents on the details of projects and resources made available through the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act during an infrastructure telephone town hall. She also listened to constituent priorities and hosted experts to answer questions on the law. Castor was joined by Emily Feenstra, Managing Director of Government Relations and Infrastructure Initiatives for the American Society of Civil Engineers and Beth Alden, Executive Director of the Hillsborough Transportation Planning Organization.

The telephone town hall can be found here.

On Thursday, Rep. Castor and Port Tampa Bay president and CEO Paul Anderson underscored the significance of this investment for Port Tampa Bay – an economic engine that supports over 85,000 jobs annually and has an economic impact of $17.2 billion – and businesses that rely on this important economic engine. The law will help modernize the port, alleviating supply chain bottlenecks, lower costs for families and increase the flow of goods through Tampa Bay. More than many other ports, Port Tampa Bay will provide the bulk construction materials for infrastructure projects across Florida.

A video of this event can be found here.

Following this event, Rep. Castor announced that the State of Florida will receive $2,510,041,078 in new federal funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to create good-paying jobs for Floridians improving roads and bridges across the state. This is the first round of funding under the five years of federal investment in Florida highways authorized by this new law.

“With this new infusion of funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, we’re putting Floridians to work rebuilding roads and bridges in Tampa Bay communities,” said Rep. Castor. “These federal dollars are a strong first step toward strengthening our state’s essential infrastructure – and with them, we’ll cut down commute times, help small businesses get goods to market and keep travelers safe on our roads. This is how we Build Back Better for our community and future generations.”

The historic and bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed into law by President Biden on November 15th, secured new federal funding for highway and bridge repair for communities across the nation. The funds, administered by the Federal-aid Highway Program, can be used for the construction, reconstruction or improvement.

The American Society of Civil Engineers gave Florida a C grade on its Infrastructure Report Card, finding many deficiencies that require immediate attention. With this funding – and more to come – the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will create good-paying union jobs strengthening and modernizing our infrastructure.