December 13, 2025, 3:04 PM EST. A surge in data center construction signals a looming clash with traditional infrastructure projects. Bloomberg notes that, in 2025, state and local governments sold a record amount of debt for infrastructure, with about $600 billion more expected next year. Census data place private data center spend at an annualized rate of over $41 billion, roughly matching state and local transportation construction. All this activity will compete for the same pool of construction workers just as the industry grapples with labor shortages from retirements and tighter immigration policy. Andrew Anagnost, CEO of Autodesk, warns there is absolutely no doubt that data center work sucks resources from other projects, and implies many public projects wont move as fast as hoped.
