The rapid expansion of data center construction may jeopardize enhancements to essential infrastructure such as roads and bridges, Bloomberg reports.
State and local governments reportedly achieved a new record in debt sales for the second consecutive year in 2025, with projections from strategists indicating an additional $600 billion in sales for the upcoming year. A significant portion of these funds is earmarked for infrastructure development.
Concurrently, data from the Census Bureau indicates that private investment in data center construction has reached an annualized rate exceeding $41 billion, which is comparable to the amount state and local governments allocate to transportation infrastructure projects.
These numerous projects are anticipated to create significant competition for skilled construction labor, especially given the industry’s existing workforce deficits stemming from retirements and immigration policy changes.
Andrew Anagnost, CEO of Autodesk, a leading architecture and design software company, informed Bloomberg that data center construction “unquestionably diverts resources from other initiatives.”
He asserted, “Many of those [infrastructure] projects will undeniably progress slower than desired.”