Daylife/AP Photo by Jim Mone
America’s civil engineers think the nation’s aging and rusty infrastructure is just not making the grade.
The American Society of Civil Engineers has issued an infrastructure report card giving a bleak cumulative ranking of D.
“We’ve been talking about this for many many years,” Patrick Natale, the group’s executive director, told CNN. “We really haven’t had the leadership or will to take action on it. The bottom line is that a failing infrastructure cannot support a thriving economy.”
The ranking — which grades the condition of 15 infrastructure entities such as roads, bridges and dams — is the same as the the last time such a report was issued, in 2005. In 2001, the grade was D+, slightly better but still poor.
The group estimates that the government and the private sector need to invest $2.2 trillion over five years, roughly three times the size of President Obama’s stimulus package.
Natale says there’s been a mentality in the United States of short-term fixes and hoping that they work — “patch and pray,” as he puts it.
“By underinvesting, the price tag escalates,” Natale said.
Wander through the categories. I don’t see anything there I disagree with. It’s all pretty poor. The grades are deserved.
Is this as high a priority as slathering money on investment banks?
We can start the infrastructure projects when we finish building the Republican endorsed LDSB System.
“Laser Death Shield Bubble Defense System”
America Republican and all we got was a three trillion dollar war and a crappy infrastructure.
And, of course, an economy in the crapper.
And, yet, the Republicans think they can lecture us on economic theory.
On the bright side, the Russians are dismantling their nuclear bombs.
They just need to carpet bomb our infrastructure with marbles.
You do realize that your picture of the I90 bridge collapse has NOTHING to do with infrastructure repair issues, don’t you?
The I90 bridge collapsed because of an original construction flaw, gusset plates that were made from steel that was too thin, not lack of repair or update. Indeed, it was an overload from infrastructure improvement work that overstressed it and caused the collapse.
Ironic ‘eh?