American Society of Civil Engineers 2013 Report Card calls for more infrastructure upgrades

Every four years the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) creates a comprehensive assessment of America’s infrastructure.  The evaluation, known as the ASCE’s Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, includes ratings of 16 infrastructure categories.  Each category was rated on the following eight criteria: capacity, condition, funding, future need, operation/maintenance, public safety, resilience, and innovation.  The most recent Report Card, for 2013, rated America’s overall infrastructure as a D+.

Although the United States is the world’s only superpower, America is currently faced with several infrastructure challenges.  The ASCE Report Card shows that more investment (from local, state, and the federal government and from the private sector) is needed in order to maintain and upgrade America’s infrastructure.  A stable infrastructure is essential to sustaining a healthy economy.  A reliable and modern infrastructure also connects people with their families more efficiently and reduces accidental injuries and deaths. 
According to a January 16, 2013 article by Lucas Kawa of Business Insider, America is ranked 25th in the world in terms of overall infrastructure.  The article explained that the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report for 2012—2013 indicates that the U.S. dropped from 5th in the world in 2002 to 25th in 2012 in terms of overall infrastructure quality.  The Global Competitiveness report states that the top 5 countries in terms of infrastructure quality are: Switzerland, Singapore, Finland, Hong Kong, and France.

Earlier this year in May, President Barack Obama delivered a speech in New York City at the Tappan Zee Bridge construction site.  Obama spoke about the need for more investments into America’s infrastructure.  During his speech Obama said: “Over the past 50 years… our investment in transportation has shrunk by 50%.  You know what other countries are doing?  European countries now invest twice as much as we do.  China invests four times what we do in transportation.”

President Obama added: “We have ports that aren’t ready for the next generation of cargo ships.  We’ve got more than 100,000 bridges that are old enough to qualify for Medicare.  We’ve got leaky pipes that lose billions of gallons of drinking water every single day, even as we’ve got a severe drought in much of the West.  Nearly half our people don’t have access to transit at all.  And I don’t have to tell you what some of our airports look like.”

The executive summary of the ASCE Report Card shows that more funding is needed to fund infrastructure in America.  Improving infrastructure will help sustain a high quality of life for American citizens and continue to move the economy forward.

Highlights of the Report Card include:
Dams – (Individual grade: D) The average age of the 84,000 dams in the U.S. is 52-years-old.  There are over 4,000 deficient dams in the U.S.

Drinking Water – (Individual grade: D) ASCE estimates that there are about 240,000 water main breaks per year in the U.S.
Hazardous Waste – (Individual grade: D) According to Environmental Protection Agency estimates, 1 in 4 Americans live within three miles of a hazardous waste site.
Aviation – (Individual grade: D) In 2012, the Federal Aviation Administration estimated that the national cost of airport congestion and delays was about $22 billion.
Bridges – (Individual grade: C+) 1 in 9 of America’s bridges are rated as structurally deficient.  The average age of the 607,380 bridges in the U.S. is 42-years-old.
Roads – (Individual grade: D) 42% of America’s major urban highways remain congested resulting in an estimated cost of $101 billion annually in wasted time and fuel.

Transit – (Individual grade: D) 45% of American households do not have any access to transit systems.  In 2010, deficient and deteriorating transit systems cost the U.S. economy $90 billion.

Schools – (Individual grade: D) The ASCE estimates that at least $270 billion is needed to modernize and maintain America’s schools.
Sources:
American Society of Civil Engineers – 2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure
“America’s crumbling infrastructure desperately needs funding” by Patrick J. Natale, January 17, 2014. http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2014/1/infrastructure-transportationcongressspending.html

“America’s Infrastructure Ranks…25th in The World” by Lucas Kawa, January 16, 2013. Business Insider.

“Will fixing America’s infrastructure help repair the economy” by Bruce Kennedy, May 14, 2014. CBS Evening News Moneywatch.

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