The trick here is the federal government invests in this infrastructure using debt/bonds. The expectation is that there will be a return on this investment. J

The trick here is the federal government invests in this infrastructure using debt/bonds. The expectation is that there will be a return on this investment. Jobs are created or whatever, there's future increased tax revenue. Now you have more money to maintain the old infrastructure and/or build new. The fact that in this case the debt is incurred is at the federal level doesn't change the system. It's expected to result in greater federal taxes in the future.