Every four years, the American Society of Civil Engineers publishes a comprehensive report on the state of the nation’s infrastructure. They call it the ASCE infrastructure report card. Everything from roads, to bridges, to dams, and energy gets a grade. This year, the average grade for America’s infrastructure is a D+.
If it seems like everything is falling apart, that’s because – according to the ASCE – it is. The nation’s roads received a D. A D grade is defined as “Poor, At Risk.” D systems “exhibit significant deterioration. Condition and capacity are of serious concern with strong risk of failure.”
According to the ASCE, thanks in part to increased federal spending approved by the FAST Act, states have been able to stabilize “the downward trend in highway investment.” But that’s not to say things are going well. At the federal level, highway spending is currently 23% less than it was in 2002 when adjusting for inflation. And though spending has been stabilized, our roads still get less than half of the funding they need to achieve a B (adequate for now) grade.
But roads are in good company it seems. Public levees, waterways, wastewater systems, hazardous waste systems, dams, public transportation, and even drinking water are all in the D- to D+ range. Interestingly, bridges got a C+ grade. The only infrastructure category to get a B was railroads.
Along with their infrastructure report card, the ASCE also published their Failure To Act report which outlines the consequences we will see between now and 2025 if we continuing to ignore our failing infrastructure. The report states that every year, the average American households will lose $3,400 due to infrastructure issues. On top of that, 2.5 million jobs will be lost. Businesses will lose $7 trillion in sales. Total U.S. GDP will drop by $3.9 trillion.
Unfortunately, not spending $1 this year, doesn’t just mean you have to spend $2 next year. Failing to spend money on infrastructure has exponential effects. Every year that goes by, fixing our infrastructure will get more and more expensive.
According to the ASCE, in order to get all U.S. infrastructure from where it is to achieving a B grade, an additional $2 trillion would need to be spent on top of what we’re already planning to spend in the next 10 years. That’s an additional $206 billion every year. It’s a huge undertaking, but according to the ASCE, if we don’t take action now, we as a country will lose far more money in the long run.
Source: fleetowner, cnbc, infrastructurereportcard, asce
Helen Corbett says
Or highways are falling apart because the money given to keep them up are going for airports football stadium sound walls and decoration.When it was for the road.The only way I see to stop this is to restrict the funding for road only. No pretty painting on bridges.