Imagine driving to work in a few years in an electric vehicle, charged at a newly installed charging station. The roads have been newly paved and the bridges recently rebuilt and strengthened. The water used for coffee is clear of contaminants like lead.
The effect of the massive infusion of infrastructure spending could have a major impact for years to come while also infusing states with money for projects that will in turn create jobs.
"I think you have to go back to when President Eisenhower created the interstate highway system and this is a much broader type and range of investment," said Mike Elmendorf, the president and CEO of the Associated General Contractors.
Elemendorf cheered the passage of the bill, calling it a necessary, long-sought investment in the state's roads and bridges.
"That is a huge number that is going to allow us to hopefully shift out of preservation mode, or scotch tape and paint mode, to actually go out and start rebuilding things that need to be rebuilt and not just paste them back together," he said.
The passage of the bill gained rare bipartisan support in Congress, including from four New York Republicans, including Reps. John Katko and Tom Reed in upstate New York.
"This is just a common sense policy," Elmendorf said. "Investing in infrastructure is one of the core functions of government."
The infrastructure package also sets aside money that could be used to fight climate change, including money for expanding mass transit.
"We also need to be adapting our communities, our infrastructure to be prepared for the inevitable increases in storms for the next 10, 20, 30 years," said Julie Tighe, the president of the New York League of Conservation Voters.
Tighe called the infrastructure bill a good first start. Even more money to harden infrastructure and fight climate change is contained in a separate social spending bill that's yet to pass.
"That will really be a significant investment that we need to make our infrastructure and our communities more resilient," she said.