The commission will be unveiled at the Conservative conference, where chancellor George Osborne will pledge an extra £5 billion in this parliament for major schemes, the BBC said.
Adonis said that without "big improvements" in transport and energy "Britain will grind to a halt".
Adonis was a policy chief in Tony Blair’s government, before becoming transport secretary under Gordon Brown.
He has now resigned as Labour whip and will sit as a crossbencher in the Lords as he takes on his new role.
Osborne is to say Lord Adonis will work in the "national interest" in his role.
