To fix creaking US infrastructure, try $10 trillion

On the last Friday of January, as if on cue, the Fern Hollow Bridge in Pittsburgh collapsed hours before US President Joe Biden was scheduled to arrive in the city.

A bus and four cars were on the bridge when the collapse occurred. Luckily, only a few people suffered minor injuries.

While the incident prompted Biden to visit the collapsed bridge site and seize the opportunity to tout the need and importance of the infrastructure bill passed by Congress last November, it also showed how serious infrastructure in the United States is in need of improvement.

According to the 2021 Report Card for America's Infrastructure by the American Society of Civil Engineers, or ASCE, funding for infrastructure has been lacking for years, with a $2.59 trillion gap over 10 years from 2020 to 2019. If such a trend continues, the inadequate infrastructure will cost the nation $10 trillion in GDP and 3 million jobs by 2039.

The federal government has been decreasing infrastructure spending since 1965, a study by think tank Council on Foreign Relations showed. By 2017, infrastructure spending only accounted for 2.5 percent of total federal spending, down from 5.8 percent in 1965.

The study also found that the US ranked 18th among G20 nations in infrastructure spending projection by 2040 in relation to national GDP.

The US is projected to spend a mere 1.5 percent of GDP on infrastructure, while China, ranked No 1, is projected to spend 5.1 percent of its GDP on infrastructure.

This means that the new $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill passed by Congress for the next five years is barely adequate to fix the aging infrastructure in the nation.

According to the ASCE's report card, 11 of 17 infrastructure sectors, including public parks, dams, roads, stormwater and transit, have been graded "D"－meaning they are in poor condition and at risk.

Only rail and port earned a "B "grade－good and adequate for now. Nothing measured up to grade "A"-exceptional and fit for the future. Overall, US infrastructure scored "C-", meaning that it is mediocre and requires attention.

Worse situation

The ASCE study found that US bridges have become worse and the grade went down to "C".

The collapsed bridge in Pittsburgh opened in 1973. Of more than 617,000 bridges nationwide, the ASCE said 42 percent are at least 50 years old.

In addition, 46,154 bridges nationwide are considered structurally deficient. Every day, 178 million trips are taken across these structurally deficient bridges, the ASCE report said.

More than 4,000 bridges in Pennsylvania alone are in poor condition and in need of being upgraded. Biden said the state is slated to receive $1.6 billion for bridge repairs from the infrastructure bill.

The infrastructure bill has dedicated $27.5 billion for bridge investment, but it has not dictated what projects each state will spend the federal money on. The decisions are largely left in the hands of state governments.

However, some are worried that an insufficient requirement on how the money is spent might lead to money wasted.

"Simply giving states more money is no guarantee it will be spent well, including on system repair," Kevin DeGood, director of infrastructure policy at the Center for American Progress, told news site Politico. "Washington needs to hold states accountable for their investment decisions."