America's Crumbling Infrastructure

There are many domestic issues that the American population is divided on. The state of our country's infrastructure is not one of them. Public figures from the President of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) to the President of the United States have addressed the issue openly and passionately.  

In 2013, the ASCE conducted a widespread study to evaluate the current "score" of the nation's infrastructure. Roads, railways, bridges, transit, and aviation systems were among the groups assessed. The report evaluated 16 categories and awarded a dismal overall grade of "D+", indicating the level of structural deficiency. In layman’s terms, our current infrastructure, namely regarding that used for transportation, is egregiously unsafe for use.

From “structurally deficient” and “functionally obsolete” bridges (terms highlighted numerous times in the report) to inaccessible, inadequate transit systems, the nation’s infrastructure requires an overhaul and a long-overdue one at that. The ASCE estimates that it will cost $3.6 trillion to bring our system up to speed by 2020. Yet, if left untouched, our current infrastructure will incur $129 billion in safety and vehicle operating costs and travel delays. Seeing as most structures have not been maintained for decades (and in multiple cases, a century) the chance of the U.S. coming close to updating the system to even a quarter of the necessary requirements is slim to none.

So what's the hold up? It surely isn't for lack of engineers. And it surely isn't for lack of importance. Deaths occur every year due to failed infrastructure. Just yesterday, at least 16 people died in South Carolina as a result of 18 dams that breached or failed after heavy rains. A more publicized event occurred in 2007 when a bridge in Minneapolis completely collapsed in the middle of rush hour killing 13 and injuring 145. It was deemed a miracle that so few passengers died. 

The age-old problem then? Money and politics. "Politicians in Washington don't have the political courage to say, 'This is what we have to do. [Raise the taxes.]'", says Ray LaHood. LaHood, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation during President Obama's first term, appeared on 60minutes in 2014 to discuss the issue. "[Politicians] don't want to spend the money. They don't want to raise the taxes. They don't really have a vision of America the way that other Congresses have had a vision of America", LaHood continued. The Federal Highway Trust Fund, which for decades funded infrastructure project, has had a precarious history in recent years, nearly dimenishing completely in 2014. And while no one is arguing that our roads and bridges are crumbling right before our eyes, as it turns out, Congress still cannot agree when they agree. It seems as though death and taxes have more in common than we imagine after all.

Read more on Congress' (in)action here.