Infrastructure was an odd place to start for the president-elect, though it was arguably one of the safest and most fitting issues to highlight in a speech clearly structured to promote national unity.
Though Republicans in prior election cycles have championed an infrastructure overhaul, Democrats also have railed against the country's dilapidated transportation systems. Clinton herself included infrastructure improvements as a key component of her campaign, and President Barack Obama touted "shovel-ready" infrastructure projects as a key component of his 2009 stimulus package.
"It's refreshing that it's in the forefront of the national spotlight and national dialogue. It has been a bipartisan subject for a number of election cycles," says Bill Sandbrook, president and CEO of U.S. Concrete. "I'm embarrassed [by] the state of the infrastructure – from the time you land at the airport to the time you drive in your car to wherever you're going."
Sandbrook says he agrees with the sentiment floated by both Clinton and Trump that America's infrastructure has been neglected for too long. But he says he is particularly hopeful of improvement given Trump's political outsider status.
"Frankly, to have an outsider who has not been in Washington and has not been through the budgetary battles of the last 25 years when it comes to allocating resources – everybody's for it, but nobody's willing to pay for it," Sandbrook says. "Maybe this time, the rhetoric is actually going to be followed up with funding that translates into additional spending on infrastructure expansion, infrastructure rebuilding, a reinvestment into the tangible assets of this country."
The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates the U.S. needs to invest $3.6 trillion into its national infrastructure by 2020 just to get the country up to where it theoretically should be given its size and scope.
And few doubt that infrastructural investments would be an economic boon to the U.S. A 2014 Economic Policy Institutepolicy paper suggests an $18 billion annual investment in infrastructure projects would "yield a $29 billion increase in [gross domestic product] and 216,000 net new jobs by the end of the first year."
And with the White House, House and Senate under GOP control next year, those on Wall Street appear to be bullish that the government will be able to pass legislation to help fund and prioritize infrastructure improvements.
U.S. Concrete's stock, for example, has surged nearly 19 percent from where it ended the day Tuesday – before Americans' votes were tallied. The stocks of construction and engineering outfit Fluor Corp. have jumped more than 13 percent, while Summit Materials has seen gains of more than 12 percent. Similar jumps have materialized throughout infrastructure-adjacent industries.
The possibility of broader tax reform also has increased with Republicans set to control both congressional chambers and the presidency. Sandbrook says corporate and personal tax reform could potentially put more money into people's pockets, which makes him "optimistic" for his company's outlook.
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