Infrastructure provides the backbone for county operations.  Counties invest more than $134 billion annually in building infrastructure and maintaining and operating public works.  Counties build and maintain 46 percent of public roads and 38 percent of bridges, are involved in 34 percent of airports across the U.S., support 960 hospitals throughout the U.S., and spend almost $26 billion on correctional facilities annually and $21.6 billion on sewage and waste management.

The decisions that county leaders make every day about transportation, infrastructure, land use and economic development policies and investments influence local and national economic opportunities, shape how communities grow and change and contribute to Americans’ quality of life.