Washington County Engineer Jacob Thorius says the National Association of County Engineers (NACE) is focused on Congress passing an infrastructure bill.

Thorius has served as the South Central Region Vice President of NACE since 2019, and the board of directors has been closely following discussions in Congress and the White House regarding a new federal transportation bill which would help funding for the county’s bridges, pavements, and other safety projects, “That’s usually a four to five year bill that actually expired a year ago last October but was extended one year. So we are following that and seeing where those discussions are going, helping provide some input, expert opinion, analysis, impacts of what’s being proposed by Congress. So that’s hopeful that things will be moving forward this year to a full bill.”

President Joe Biden recently proposed a $2 trillion infrastructure proposal coined the American Jobs Plan, which among several provisions would include $621 billion on roads, bridges, public transit, rail, ports, waterways, airports, and electric vehicles; $111 billion to replace the nation’s lead pipes and service lines and upgrade the nation’s water systems; and $100 billion to expand broadband infrastructure.