Major infrastructure and development projects now face far greater complexity than they did even a decade ago. Rapid population growth and industrial expansion are placing mounting pressure on utilities, transportation networks, water systems, and regional planning — often faster than public infrastructure can adapt.
The challenge is not just funding. North Carolina has received $12.3 billion through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, yet major projects are still stalling. Even when federal funding, state appropriations, local capital plans, or private investment are available, the bottleneck often shifts to execution: permitting timelines, utility coordination, interagency alignment, and the ability to move from planning to construction before funding windows close or political conditions change.
That window is narrowing. The IIJA’s surface transportation provisions expire in September 2026, and Congress is already debating the next reauthorization framework. For developers, investors, and industrial companies, the policy and funding environment they are planning around today may look materially different within a single project cycle.
Capital is only part of the picture. On the ground, execution often runs into obstacles that rarely announce themselves early. Power and water constraints surface late. Permitting pathways become more complicated than expected. Agencies operate on different schedules. And the time to address those issues quietly — before they become public problems — can close quickly.
Vertex helps developers, investors, and industrial companies identify where projects are likely to stall, align the public-sector decisions needed to move them forward, and manage the sequencing that often determines whether a project advances cleanly or stalls out.
North Carolina Spotlight
- Local governments are projected to face $36–44 billion in water and wastewater needs over the next 20 years — a gap already shaping how industrial projects get sited and how quickly utility commitments can be secured.
- North Carolina’s infrastructure received a C-minus grade in the 2026 ASCE Report Card — below the national average — with dams and wastewater systems rated D-plus, even as record federal investment flows into the state. The grades reflect a system under pressure from rapid growth, not one recovering from neglect.
- Projects including the Mid-Currituck Bridge and Cape Fear Crossing have demonstrated how permitting delays, environmental review, and intergovernmental coordination can materially affect project delivery timelines and long-term planning.
Specialty Areas
- Infrastructure policy across federal, state, and local government — including permitting reform, state and local siting restrictions, economic development incentives, surface transportation reauthorization, IIJA expiration planning, and related policy developments affecting major infrastructure projects.
- Funding, appropriations, and capital planning — including federal and state infrastructure programs tied to IIJA, state appropriations, TIFIA, WIFIA, BUILD/RAISE, INFRA, MEGA, AIP, PSGP, HMGP, BRIC, and related funding and financing pathways.
- Site acquisition, land use, and public approval risk — including brownfield redevelopment, zoning and land use, annexation, agricultural conversion, easements, eminent domain, federal, state, and tribal land use engagement, military installation compatibility, encroachment considerations, stakeholder and community engagement, moratorium navigation, and political risk management.
- Permitting, agency engagement, and environmental review — including NEPA and SEPA review, CEQ guidance, FAST-41 strategy, Section 106 historic preservation review, Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act permitting, stormwater considerations, greenhouse gas and carbon reporting, and related federal and state requirements.
- Water, wastewater, flood mitigation, and coastal infrastructure — including utility coordination, local government engagement, water and wastewater system needs, flood mitigation policy, coastal community funding considerations, and related infrastructure investment priorities.
- Transportation, freight, port, aviation, broadband, and communications infrastructure — including highway, bridge, rail, freight, port, maritime, aviation, broadband, wireless, and telecommunications projects, along with tolling, intelligent transportation systems, traffic enforcement technology, infrastructure inspection, monitoring, drones, autonomous systems, and related deployment considerations.
- Pipeline, energy transmission, and grid infrastructure — including FERC and state public utility commission engagement, right-of-way acquisition, grid modernization policy, system reliability, energy transmission constraints, and infrastructure funding considerations.
- Critical infrastructure security and security technology strategy — including CISA sector alignment, critical infrastructure classification, TSA security directives, federal security policy engagement, facility and transportation security considerations, and security technology procurement.
- Project financing, insurability, and long-term viability risk — including insurance-market conditions, public policy developments, regulatory changes, external risk factors, approval risk, capital requirements, and long-term project viability.
Relevant Regulatory & Government Bodies
Federal
- Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC)
- Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)
- Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
- Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
- Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
- Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (FPISC)
- Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
- U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- U.S. Senate and House Transportation, Environment, Energy, Commerce, and Appropriations Committees
North Carolina
- Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (EDPNC)
- Local Governments, Planning Boards, Municipal Utility Authorities, and Economic Development Authorities
- North Carolina Department of Commerce (NCDOC)
- North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ)
- North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT)
- North Carolina Environmental Management Commission
- North Carolina General Assembly (NCGA)
- North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management (OSBM)
- North Carolina State Ports Authority (NCSPA)
- North Carolina Local Government Commission
- North Carolina Turnpike Authority
- State Water Infrastructure Authority (SWIA)