WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will lay out the first part of his multitrillion-dollar economic recovery package this week, focusing on rebuilding roads, bridges and other infrastructure, followed by a separate plan later in April addressing child and health care.

The Biden administration is prioritizing the Gateway rail tunnel project between New York City and New Jersey with urgency because of its “national significance” to the economy, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told lawmakers.

The Biden administration is ready to engage with Congress to improve the flow of freight and commuters by modernizing the country’s mobility networks, the nation’s top transportation official told a U.S. House panel March 25.

President Joe Biden said he will unveil his long-term economic rejuvenation plan March 31, promising a new “paradigm” for the middle class and a major ramp-up in investment and infrastructure spending that will strengthen the U.S. position against China.

WASHINGTON — Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is warning that the country’s infrastructure needs exceed $1 trillion and that other countries, namely China, are pulling ahead of the U.S. with their public works investments, a scenario he describes as “a threat to our collective future.”

Approving massive investments for transportation projects would significantly improve the country’s economy, Maria Cantwell, chairwoman of the Senate Commerce Committee said at a hearing March 24.

The Federal Highway Administration recently awarded $18.7 million to eight projects that will test user-based funding methods.

President Joe Biden is betting that a multitrillion-dollar economic plan centered around infrastructure spending will do more than bolster an American economy hammered by the coronavirus pandemic: It will ensure his country’s competitiveness against China for decades to come.

The Biden administration is considering as much as $3 trillion worth of measures to include in a long-term economic program for infrastructure and other initiatives, according to three people familiar with the deliberations.

The Oregon Transportation Commission recently approved the Enhance Highway Discretionary Program, which is meant to specifically address congestion and freight mobility issues.