Civil engineers’ report details decrepit state of US infrastructure
By
Matthew Taylor
5 April 2017
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) released its quadrennial “Report Card” last month on the condition of infrastructure in the United States. Once again, the association gave the country an overall failing grade of D-, the same as in 2013.
The report is a damning appraisal of the state of American society under capitalism, and the Obama years, which saw essential social needs starved of funding while the stock market tripled in value and vast public resources were squandered on war. This will only accelerate under Trump.
The ASCE report assesses the state of sixteen different categories of infrastructure: aviation, bridges, dams, drinking water, energy, hazardous waste, inland waterways, levees, parks and recreation, ports, rail, roads, schools, solid waste, transit and wastewater.
Twelve of the sixteen sections evaluated earned a D grade. The report defines a D grade as “The infrastructure is in poor to fair condition and mostly below standard, with many elements approaching the end of their service life. A large portion of the system exhibits significant deterioration. Condition and capacity are of serious concern with strong risk of failure.”
According to ASCE, the total costs to bring all US infrastructure into an adequate condition would exceed two trillion dollars.
The highest grade for any section of the report was earned by rail, which got a B. The reports notes that the nation’s railways are largely privately owned and that major companies generally invest significant resources for rail maintenance. The lowest grade was earned by transit, a D-. This includes buses, subway, and light rail systems. The report estimates the backlog maintenance…