Data Center Build-Out vs. Public Infrastructure: What IT Leaders Need to Know in 2025
Data centers are getting built fast. Bloomberg reports that this surge is likely to slow upgrades to roads, bridges, and other public projects that your teams rely on for power, fiber, and permits.
State and local governments set a record for debt issuance in 2025 and are expected to sell another $600 billion next year, most of it for infrastructure. At the same time, private investment in data center construction has hit an annualized pace above $41 billion-roughly in line with what governments are spending on transportation.
The money picture (and why it spills into IT delivery)
- Public works will compete head-to-head with data center builds for the same electricians, linemen, steel, concrete, switchgear, and transformers.
- Census data shows a sustained upswing in private nonresidential construction for data centers, not a blip. Source: U.S. Census Bureau
- Andrew Anagnost, CEO of Autodesk, told Bloomberg that data center projects are taking resources from other construction efforts, and many public projects won't move as quickly as expected.
The bottleneck: skilled labor
Worker shortages are the choke point. Retirements are rising, and tighter immigration policies introduced during President Donald Trump's administration reduced a key backfill channel. That means longer timelines, higher bids, and fewer available crews for both public jobs and private builds.
What this means for IT and engineering teams
- Schedules will slip: utility interconnects, fiber backhaul, and occupancy permits may take months longer than quoted.
- MEP costs can swing mid-project: switchgear, generators, and chillers see price jumps and extended lead times.
- Regional constraints intensify: where grid capacity and trades are tight, even small changes can cascade into delays.
- Public works delays can impact access roads, conduit routes, and inspections tied to your site readiness.
Practical moves to keep your roadmap intact
- Lock supply early: Pre-buy or reserve long-lead items (transformers, switchgear, generators, structured cabling). Write price-hold and delivery penalties into contracts.
- Standardize and modularize: Repeatable designs, prefabricated MEP skids, and modular data halls shorten install time and reduce field labor risk.
- Build flexible capacity plans: Stage compute in waves. Design for partial energization so you can land workloads without waiting for the full build.
- Diversify regions and providers: Spread new capacity across multiple metros and consider a mix of on-prem, colo, and cloud to hedge interconnect and permitting delays.
- Coordinate early with utilities: Get in the queue now for power studies, substation upgrades, and right-of-way work. Treat utility PMs like core stakeholders.
- Choose cooling with lead times in mind: Some liquid cooling components and heat rejection systems have longer procurement cycles. Validate vendor timelines, not just specs.
- Tighten VDC/BIM workflows: Resolve clashes before materials hit the site. Fewer RFIs equals fewer schedule hits.
- Cross-train ops + dev: Automate provisioning, testing, and failover so smaller on-site teams can stand up capacity faster and cleaner.
- Write labor reality into contracts: Include escalation clauses, backup subcontractors, and productivity assumptions that reflect actual crew availability.
Signals worth tracking
- Transformer and switchgear lead times from major OEMs and distributors.
- Local interconnection queues and substation upgrade backlogs.
- Construction input price indexes and contractor bid volumes.
- Queue studies for generation and load additions in your ISOs/RTOs. LBNL interconnection resources
If you need to offset headcount gaps with automation
Process automation can reduce the on-site load: infrastructure as code, CI/CD for infra, and scripted compliance checks help smaller teams deliver. For upskilling on automation and AI-driven workflows, you can explore curated options here: Automation learning resources.
Bottom line: the data center build rush isn't slowing, and it's pulling from the same labor and materials your projects need. Plan for longer timelines, secure critical gear early, and design with speed and flexibility in mind. This is not investment advice.
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