Biden is spending $1.2 trillion on infrastructure — here's what that means for Canada

U.S. President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan infrastructure deal last month — a significant domestic achievement for an embattled president that will flow hundreds of billions of dollars in federal money to infrastructure projects nationwide.

The plan is aimed at repairing crumbling U.S. infrastructure that has been ignored for decades. A failing Civil War-era bridge in Maryland, for example, is one of the many 100-year-old-plus structures slated for reconstruction with the $1.2 trillion in new money.

The bill will fund 32,000 kilometres of new roads and 10,000 bridges. It will supercharge the nationwide rollout of broadband internet and climate-friendly initiatives like electric vehicle charging stations.

Buried in the 1,039-page bill are provisions that might also mean new roads and railway service for Canadians.

The infrastructure deal offers a multi-billion dollar cash injection to rebuild a 561-km stretch of the Alaska Highway that travels almost exclusively through Yukon — an investment that Congress has pitched as a "necessary reconstruction" with "benefits that will accrue to the state of Alaska and to the United States."

That project demonstrates just how close — and unusual — the Canada-U.S. relationship really is. Washington will pay for road reconstruction on Canadian territory to make the trip from Haines, Alaska to Beaver Creek, Yukon a more pleasant driving experience for Americans. But Canadians — Yukoners in particular — will also benefit from the new pavement.

Parts of this road through a permafrost region — the only land connection between Alaska and the lower 48 states — are severely degraded after years of neglect by U.S. authorities, who are responsible for construction under a 1977 agreement. One Yukon official said recently that driving on certain patches feels like "bounces on a roller coaster." The bill stipulates construction can begin after an agreement is reached with Canada on some of the finer points.

The infrastructure bill could also be a boon for Canadians who live much further south. It allocates new money to expanding the limited rail options in and out of the U.S., including new routes in the East and better service in the already well-served West.

But American officials are warning these planned service improvements will never materialize if Canada continues dragging its heels on expanding facilities like the pre-clearance sites that would make cross-border rail travel a more viable option.

Under a binational deal signed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and former president Barack Obama in 2016, and subsequently ratified by Parliament and the U.S. Congress, Canada can build border facilities on U.S. soil to allow Canada-bound travellers to clear customs at American airports and railway stations, easing the flow of travellers and reducing wait times.

But the Canadian government has been sitting on its hands so far — prompting frustration among some American politicians.

One of the big beneficiaries of Biden's new infrastructure spending is Amtrak, the government-owned passenger rail service that has long been neglected by lawmakers in Washington.

Biden — nicknamed "Amtrak Joe" because of his frequent travel on the Washington to Wilmington, Delaware line during his time as a senator — secured $22 billion in direct funding and up to $44 billion in grants for Amtrak in the infrastructure bill. It's the biggest boost to Amtrak's federal aid since Congress created it half a century ago, when private rail companies gave up on passenger service.

Amtrak already has published its proposed new route expansion map as it looks to aggressively expand into under-served areas to shift travellers from cars and planes to trains — which would reduce both greenhouse gas emissions and congestion in the air and on the nation's roads.