"Stop talking around projects and talk about solutions": Positioning health within infrastructure policy to achieve the sustainable development goals.

•We analyse infrastructure policy and public health intersections to meet the SDGs.•Infrastructure (SDG 9) plays a society shaping role synergistic with a public health agenda (SDG 3).•Political power causes ‘project fever’; costly projects often detrimental to the public interest.•Public health is novel for and insufficiently considered in infrastructure policy.•Health and well-being focussed infrastructure policy will improve decisions in the public interest.