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Justin Benjamin, a crew leader with the public works department in Winooski, Vermont, tamps asphalt into a pothole on East Spring Street.
Henry Epp/Marketplace

Muni bonds shine in a gloomy pandemic economy

Nov 13, 2020
They're tax-free, high-interest and in demand, potentially reflecting confidence in the economy.
Municipal bonds, which offer tax breaks, fund public infrastructure like roads, school buildings and more.
Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images

The future of American infrastructure might lie in public-private partnerships

Feb 6, 2019
The promise of investment in "cutting-edge" technology came out of this year's State of the Union.
Then-U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke (L) and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao (C) watch US President Donald Trump speaks wave during his visit to the U.S. Department of Transportation on June 9, 2017 in Washington, D.C. 
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

As President Trump turns to infrastructure, which projects will be funded?

Dec 27, 2017
Likely next up for President Trump’s new year agenda is tackling America’s infrastructure. But can lawmakers pull it together to fund improvements to our public works? And what exactly will be funded?  Click the audio player above to hear the full story. 

After taxes … then comes infrastructure and how to pay for it

Dec 8, 2017
Reports say President Trump will release his plan to tackle the nation’s public works next month.

On infrastructure, now what? Trump's sudden turn away from public-private model brings uncertainty

Oct 5, 2017
With private money at a record level and projects ready to go, the president decides the partnerships are "more trouble than they're worth," leaving states to make their own deals with investors and to hope for federal funding.
President Donald Trump delivers a speech on June 7, 2017 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Donald Trump spoke about transportation and infrastructure projects. 
Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

Trump's desire for private infrastructure money will narrow his choices to mostly urban projects

Jul 19, 2017
Rural America, which supported Trump in the election, could be left out of water and road building investment as states and the president leverage private investment. Trump's plan offers little detail on federal spending and timing. Adding to the uncertainty, a presidential adviser has indicated that states should help themselves.


Infrastructure renewal work beneath Penn Station in New York. 


 
Kathy Willens/AP

For public good, not for profit.

Why Pittsburgh is buying $1,200 garbage cans

May 18, 2017
The smart cans are meant to save time and money, but some trash collectors are skeptical.
Robert Sledge, from the Department of Public Works, empties trash cans in downtown Pittsburgh.
Erika Beras

When Public Works employed millions

Apr 3, 2017
Mass unemployment during the Great Depression led to hundreds of thousands of infrastructure projects all over America.
Men from all over the United States came to Northern California to find work at Shasta Dam. Construction lasted seven years, from 1938-1945.
courtesy U.S. Bureau of Reclamation