Looming Government Shutdown Would Halt Infrastructure Projects, Cause Airport Delays

The federal government looks unlikely to meet an Oct. 1 deadline to pass bills to fund operations ahead of the new fiscal year, spelling trouble for both infrastructure projects and travelers looking to take to the skies. 

As hopes for a resolution fade, the impacts of a shutdown on infrastructure would have a larger reach than people might expect, American Society of Civil Engineers President Maria Lehman told Construction Dive. With many current projects made up of complex project funding, even builds that aren’t completely federally funded would face delays.

“Most projects these days have lots of different funding sources, they maybe have local and state and federal, maybe a private component, maybe an authority,” Lehman told Construction Dive. “So [a shutdown has] a much bigger impact than it might have been in the past as far as the number of projects potentially that could get hit.”

A shutdown would also hold up projects across the country because of a delay in reviews from the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Infrastructure, per a White House press release. 

In addition, federal agencies wouldn’t be able to give new guidance on how funds should be used, and the Department of Transportation and other key federal agencies responsible for infrastructure wouldn't be fully operational, Lehman told the outlet. This means most new federal projects wouldn't get started and the government would suspend awards and put current projects on hold. 

Any potential shutdown could be a blow to the Biden administration's Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which has rolled out financing for a slew of projects, including $7.5B for water infrastructure and $1.4B toward 70 rail and supply chain infrastructure projects.

When it comes to air travel, people have faced airport delays during government shutdowns in the past, but this one could be worse because Saturday is also the deadline to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration, Yahoo Finance reports. 

Airlines for America, an industry lobbying group, told Yahoo Finance that a shutdown "could lead to flight delays for travelers and cargo shipments, longer screening lines” and slow down developmental efforts like training air traffic controllers and modernization initiatives.

The group told Yahoo Finance that a lack of sufficient FAA funding “risks our ability to function efficiently and is not conducive to the growth and vitality of our airspace.”