Map of report on infrastructure infrastructure at each time and fourthInvestments made duringFormer President Joe Biden’s administration.
In a report by the American Society of Civil Engineers, which discussed everything from roads and dam to drinking water and railways, warns that federal funding must be retained or increased to avoid further deterioration and escalation of costs.
“We saw that the investments are starting to pay off, but we have a lot of work to do there,” said Darren Olson, chairman of the report this year. He said that disease infrastructure is from bad roads that damage cars to flights delay to shutdown electricity that damage products – harming people and economics.
“By investing in our infrastructure, we make our economy more effective, we make it stronger (and) we make ourselves more competitive in the world,” he said.
It is especially important that the infrastructure can cope with the more extreme weather with the climate change, Olson said, said Hurricanes that devastated the east coast and parts of Apollah last year. Last year in the US saw 27 weather disasters costs at least $ 1 billionThe second most since 1980.
The 2021 investment and jobs law provided $ 550 billion in new investment in the infrastructure, but is due in 2026. Another 30 billion dollars came from the 2022 inflation decline, including for pure energy and climate change projects, the engineering group said.
Presidential Administration Donald Trump has sent Biden to some green politicians. For example, public parks have improved to C-minus with D-plus, thanks to significant investments over several years. However, Trump’s administration has recently moved to the reductionNational Park Service Service.
In 2021, the United States earned C-minus as a whole. Investments made since then have been only part of $ 9.1 trillion, which according to a group of civil engineers are necessary for the introduction of the entire modern infrastructure of the country into a state of good repair.
Even if the current financing of the federal infrastructure was preserved, there will still be a gap of 3.7 trillion for a decade, the report said.
For example, the bill on modernization and maintenance of approximately 50,000 water utilities is $ 625 billion over the next two decades, the federal government reports. The drinking water variety was C-minus, unchanged compared to four years ago.
A lot of communities that are already fighting for support old, outdated Drink water systems also face new requirements Replace the leading lines of service and reduce per- and polyphloraalic substancescollectively known as PFAS.
The infrastructure bill has helped to complete or start “many really important projects,” said Scott Berry, the director of politics and state affairs in the US. “But in the last couple of decades, the gap has expanded so much that it will take more investment.”
The bill also provided billions to help the US Army Engineering Corps update the internal waterways, which move approximately $ 150 billion each year, improving the D-Plus mark.
For example, barges on the Mississippi River carry a huge amount of coal, soybeans, corn and other raw materials to international markets. But critical infrastructure, like locks and dams, built more than half a century ago and require regular service and repair-often invisible to the public, which makes it easy to neglect, said Mike Stynhok, executive director of the soy transport coalition.
And when large projects are financed, it is too often on the stages, he said. This makes the projects pause until more money is assigned, increasing the cost of materials and work.
“If we really want the taxpayer’s dollars stretched further, you should be able to bring more predictability and reliability in how you finance these projects,” he said.
The focus of the report on engineering and money lacks the importance of policy that can improve how people use and pay for the infrastructure, according to Clifford Winston, the microelectric artist in the Brookings Economic Research Program.
“You will not be able to use what you have,” Winston said. For example, he noted that the congestion prices recently accepted by New York – accusing people of traveling to crowded areas – places a burden on frequent users and may pressure people to travel less, reducing new bridges, tunnels and repair.
Roads remain in chronically poor form, receiving D-plus compared to D in the latest report, despite $ 591 billion in investment since 2021.
Two categories, rail and energy, received lower marks. Catastrophes such as train rails that transported dangerous chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio, in 2023 reduced the preliminary B-NAK Rail on B-Minus.
The energy sector, which is emphasized by the increase in demand at the data center and electric vehicles, received the D-plus, decreasing to C-Minus.
Engineers say the problems in many sectors have been chasing for so long that the nation should find out how to solve the shortcomings now or pay for them if the systems do not receive.
On Wednesday, a delegation of engineers will visit Washington to talk to the legislators about the impact on financing and “importance to continue these investments,” said Olson, who said the needs are a two -party problem.
“When we talk about this way, how much the best infrastructure saves American family money, how much better infrastructure supports economic growth, we are really sure that … there is strong support,” he said.
Originally this story was presented on Fortune.com
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2025-03-25 13:06:00
Tammy Webber, Michael Phillis, The Associated Press
