2009 Report Card for America's Infrastructure

The American Society for Civil Engineers just released their updated 2009 Report Card. The ASCE issued report cards in 2003 and 2005.  Since the last Report Card in 2005, the grades have not improved. US Infrastructure still gets a grade of D, but the estimated cost of upgrading it to an acceptable standard has now risen to $2.2 trillion, from $1.6 trillion in 2005. The ASCE looked at 15 types of infrastructure.  Of these since 2005, aviation, public transit, and roads got worse and only one, energy, improved.

Roads, D-

Americans spending more than 4.2 billion hours a year stuck in traffic.

Drinking water, D-

"Leaking pipes lose an estimated seven billion gallons of clean drinking water a day."

Inland waterways, D-

"The average age of all federally owned or operated locks is nearly 60 years, well past their planned design life of 50 years.

Wastewater systems, D-

"Aging systems discharge billions of gallons of untreated wastewater into U.S. surface waters each year."

Levees, D-

"Many levees are locally owned and maintained, but they are aging and their 'reliability' is not known."

Solid waste, C+

"More than a third was recycled or recovered, presenting a 7 percent increase since 2000."

Bridges, C

"One in four of the country's bridges are either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete."

Rail, C-

"a freight train is three times as fuel efficient as a truck, and traveling by passenger rail uses 20 percent less energy per mile than traveling by car."

Energy, D+

"Progress has been made in grid reinforcement since 2005 and substantial investment in generation, transmission and distribution is expected over the next two decades."

Comments

[Jordan Lubetkin]

All of us around the Great Lakes region understand the threat that outdated wastewater infrastructure can pose to people, businesses and communities. More than 23 billion gallons of sewage overflows into the lakes every year, closing beaches and threatening public health.

The good news is we have solutions. Congress and the Obama administration can invest in our communities. I encourage you to read more about how we can both create jobs and protect national resources like the Great Lakes at:
http://www.healthylakes.org/threats/2009/01/29/short-and-very-bittersweet