Nation’s infrastructure receives poor grades on ASCE report card
The United States’ roads, bridges, drinking water systems and other infrastructure received a cumulative grade of D on the Washington-based American Society of Civil Engineers‘ (ASCE) 2009 “Report Card for America’s Infrastructure.” Unless all levels of government and the private sector invest more than $2 trillion in the nation’s infrastructure, ASCE officials say the economy’s recovery will continue to be threatened.
ASCE blamed the infrastructure decline on “decades of underfunding and inattention,” and said the cost of improvement has increased by half a trillion dollars since 2005. “Crumbing infrastructure has a direct impact on our personal and economic health, and the nation’s infrastructure crisis is endangering our future prosperity,” ASCE President D. Wayne Klotz said in a statement. “Our leaders are looking for solutions to the nation’s current economic crisis. Not only could investment in these critical foundations have a positive impact, but if done responsibly, it would also provide tangible benefits to the American people, such as reduced traffic congestion, improved air quality, clean and abundant water supplies and protection against natural hazards.”
The highest grade given in the report was a C+ for solid waste services. Almost every other category covered by the report card, which is available at http://www.asce.org/reportcard/2009/, received a D, though no category dropped as low as an F.