US Infrastructure Is A Disaster

• 1 in 9 of the country's bridges are rated as structurally deficient, meaning they require significant maintenance, rehabilitation, or replacement. 
• Of the 84,000 dams in the U.S., 14,000 are considered "high hazard" and 4,000 are deficient. It would cost $21 billion to repair these aging dams.
• 42% of the country's major urban highways are considered congested, and 32% of major roads in the U.S. are in poor or mediocre condition.
• Even though a third of Americans don't drive cars, 45% of households lack access to transit. 
• There are 240,000 water main breaks in the U.S. each year, and many water mains and pipes are over 100 years old.
• The Federal Aviation Administration anticipates that the national cost of airport congestion and delays will nearly double from $34 billion in 2020 to $63 billion in 2040.
• 90% of locks and dams experienced an unscheduled delay or service interruption in 2009. Barges being stopped for hours can prolong transport of goods and drive up prices.
• Congestion on rail lines is costing the U.S. economy about $200 billion a year, or 1.6% of economic output.
• Although public school enrollment is gradually increasing, national spending on school construction declined to $10 billion in 2012, about half of what was spent before the recession.
• National Park Service facilities saw 279 million visits in 2011 and has a deferred maintenance backlog of $11 billion.

10 Signs That US Infrastructure Is A Disaster

Repairing Infrastructure & Interest Rates

From Barry Ritholtz:

What can we do as a nation to take advantage of these interest rates before they return to normal? Choose your favorite part of America that can be upgraded: 

• Our electrical grid consists mostly of wires strung between wooden poles, which may have been innovative in 1850 but is somewhat past its sell-by date today. After Hurricane Sandy, much of New Jersey, Long Island and Connecticut lost electrical service for two weeks. The entire grid needs to be hardened, upgraded against cyberattack — and buried underground. 
• We can make our road system “intelligent” by using sensors and software to move traffic more quickly and efficiently than the current “dumb” system does. The productivity boost and fuel savings make this a big return on investment. 
• Bridges that are well past their life expectancy should not simply wait to fail. We should be actively replacing these. The alternative is waiting for random events — like the truck crash that caused the Washington state Skagit River bridge collapse — to cause a disaster. 
• The United States’ cellular network is a decade behind Europe’s and Asia’s coverage and reliability. Mandate better minimum service requirements and make available cheap financing to wireless providers to do so. We can do the same with broadband as well. 
• The interstate highway system has been one of the lasting legacies of the Eisenhower administration. It is time for a full upgrade of this economic multiplier.

Worst State Highway Systems

20. Wisconsin

2013 Ranking: Wisconsin’s state highway system is ranked 31st in the nation in overall highway performance and efficiency.

Last Year's Ranking: It is a slight decline for Wisconsin which ranked 27th in the previous Annual Highway Report.

Problem Areas: Wisconsin ranks 7th in deficient bridges, 15th in fatality rate, 30th in urban interstate congestion, and 31st in disbursements per mile.

Total Spending Per Mile: $165,184/mile.