U.S. infrastructure is in terrible shape. Roads, bridges, dams, you name it….
They’re all in terrible shape. However, it’s again becoming a big priority.
In fact, House Democrats unveiled a $760 billion plan to fund infrastructure investments over the next five years. According to The Hill, “The Democrats’ framework proposes $329 billion for roads and bridges, $55 billion for passenger rail, $30 billion for airport investments, $50.5 billion for wastewater infrastructure, $86 billion for expanding broadband access for rural areas, and $12 billion for a “next generation” 911 system for emergency calls.”
U.S. Infrastructure Barely Passes Inspections
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) just released its 2017 Infrastructure report card, describing the current state of everything from U.S. roads, airports, water systems and even bridges. And well… we didn’t do so well. We got a D+.
The next report from the ASCE due by 2021 may not be much better.
Not only are we barely passing, we need $588 billion for roads, bridges, and dams.
Bridges are structurally deficient.
In fact, according to the American Road and Transportation Association, nearly 56,000 bridges in the U.S. alone are in bad shape. More than 25% of current bridges are more than 50 years old.
More than 20% of major roads in the U.S. are in poor condition.
According to U.S News & World Report, “Our roads are getting worse by the day. The United States has set a new record for vehicle miles traveled, driving over 3.2 trillion miles in 2016, an increase of 70 billion miles from 2015. Congestion has been on the rise, and Americans waste incredible amounts of time sitting in traffic.”
Tack on lost productivity, poor public health issues, car damage, delays to the issues, and experts say to fix it all could cost us trillions more by 2020, according to the ASCE.
