Upgrades to roads, bridges, and similar public works may face delays as the pace of data center construction quickens. In 2025, state and local governments issued a record level of debt for a second consecutive year, and financial strategists forecast an additional $600 billion in such sales for the coming year. The majority of these funds is anticipated to support infrastructure initiatives.

Concurrently, data indicates that private investment in data center construction recently reached an annualized rate exceeding $41 billion. This figure is approximately equal to the amount state and local governments spend on transportation infrastructure projects.

These simultaneous large-scale endeavors are expected to vie for the same pool of construction workers. This competition intensifies an existing industry labor shortage, driven by workforce retirements and stricter immigration policies enacted under President Donald Trump.

Andrew Anagnost, the CEO of design software company Autodesk, stated there is "absolutely no doubt" that data center development "sucks resources from other projects." He added, "I guarantee you a lot of those [infrastructure] projects are not going to move as fast as people want."