I don't think it is fair to toss all infrastructure in the same bucket but for infrastructure projects where there are US federal dollars involved, the Davis-Ba

I don't think it is fair to toss all infrastructure in the same bucket but for infrastructure projects where there are US federal dollars involved, the Davis-Bacon act is one reason why costs are high. TL;DR Labor rates are above market rates due to the legislative requirements. See https://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2016/08/31/union-wages-increase-construction-costs-by-20-abolish-davis-bacon/#13b14a13406e https://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2016/08/31/union-wa... for one point of view on this issue. It isn't clear to me if these legislative mandates apply to power-line construction though.