Every year, Asphalt Contractor Magazine reaches out to several experts within the industry, people with deep understanding and experience, to help us shed light on what the year ahead might bring. In 2022, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) was officially the law of the land for a full year. This enabled a huge wave of work to get underway with its historic investments in infrastructure initiatives all across the country. Now, with the passage of the complimentary Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the federal government aims to influence, not just the road building industry, but other adjacent industries, as well, to take more aggressive and innovative steps against climate change and environmental disaster.
Meanwhile, the namesake of the bill continues to be a big factor in everything from production timelines and job bids, to staffing gaps and retention rates. Throughout the year, the expectation was that, eventually, a corner would be turned concerning the continuous problems with employment. That still hasn't happened, and questions remain about whether or not 2023 will be materially any different.
