Reading the 172-page ‘2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure’ by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) leaves no doubt that the U.S. is sorely in need of major infrastructure spending. The conclusions:
- ‘Every four years, ASCE estimates the investment needed in each infrastructure category to maintain a state of good repair and earn a grade of B.’
- ‘The most recent analysis reveals that while we’ve made incremental immediate gains in some of the infrastructure categories, our long-term investment gap continues to grow.’
- ‘We’re still just paying about half of our infrastructure bill – and the total investment gap has gone from $2.1 trillion over 10 years to $2.59 trillion over 10 years.’
‘The 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure reveals we’ve made some incremental progress toward restoring our nation’s infrastructure.’
- ‘For the first time in 20 years, our infrastructure is out of the D range. America's Infrastructure Scores a C-.’
‘The good news is that closing America’s infrastructure gap is possible with big, bold action from Congress, continued financial support from states and localities, and smart investments and management by infrastructure owners.’
- That action has arrived with President Biden’s ‘American Jobs Plan.’
- (As good as the Plan is, I wish it were devoted exclusively to remedying the problems laid out in the ASCE report card and saved ‘softer’ issues for later.)