After years of underfunding, the nation's aging infrastructure is about to get a massive investment in new and rebuilt highways, bridges, airports and other public projects, according to the president-elect.



Funding may be the easy part. With the U.S. job market approaching full employment, finding enough skilled workers to take on new projects could be much harder.

Construction companies are already scrambling to fill open positions. Some 221,000 construction jobs were open in September, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is more than four times the number at the start of 2012.

Some two thirds of construction contractors report having a hard time finding skilled workers, according to a survey earlier this year by the Associated General Contractors, a trade group. The shortages were most pronounced in the South and Midwest, where three-quarters reported having a hard time filling skilled job openings.