US infrastructure needs $6t fix, engineers say

The United States has been given an unflattering grade of “C-minus” on the state of the country’s infrastructure in 2021, according to a long-running report by engineers.

Even though the C grade range represents a “mediocre” rating in the report card by the American Society of Civil Engineers, it marked the first time in 20 years that the country had moved out of the D range for its overall score. But that still leaves the US facing a bill of almost $6 trillion to fix its broken infrastructure, the engineers say.

The Virginia-based organization analyzes 17 categories ranging from bridges, roadways and public transit to parks and ports, and releases a grade every four years. Grades this year range from a B (good) in rail to a D-minus (poor with condition and capacity at strong risk of failure) in transit.

Grades improved in five categories: aviation, drinking water, energy, inland waterways and ports. Just one category, bridges, declined. Transit scored the lowest, with an unchanged grade of D-minus.

The analysis released on Wednesday estimates that the total infrastructure investment gap has swelled to $2.59 trillion over 10 years and nearly $6 trillion is needed to repair the broken infrastructure.

If the US doesn’t pay its overdue infrastructure bill, the engineers society said that by 2039 the economy will lose $10 trillion in growth, and exports will decline by $2.4 trillion. More than 3 million jobs will be lost in 2039. In addition, each household will bear $3,300 in hidden costs a year.

The society represents civil engineers around the world and has released its score card every four years since 1998. Groups such as the engineers society have a clear interest in triggering as much public spending as possible to benefit their members.

Despite the upgrade in the score, the society’s executive director, Tom Smith, contends this year’s ranking still misses the mark. “While that is an incremental, small improvement, it still is not something to write home about. It’s certainly not a grade that you’d be proud of,” he told CNN.

Representative Peter DeFazio, who chairs the House of Representatives’ Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, called the latest infrastructure grades “not acceptable”. The Oregon Democrat said in a statement that “the states can’t go it alone”.

He said: “The cities can’t go it alone. They need a federal partner.”

Business groups and many Republicans have expressed a willingness to work with the administration of US President Joe Biden to pass $1 trillion or more in infrastructure spending. But they have made clear to the administration that raising taxes could scuttle any chance of a consensus deal.

During his presidential campaign, Biden proposed a $2 trillion infrastructure plan that would focus on job creation and climate progress. Since becoming president in January, Biden has prioritized passing an infrastructure bill this year after the passage of a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill over the weekend.

On Thursday, Biden, Vice-President Kamala Harris and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg met with a bipartisan group of senators at the White House to discuss infrastructure.

After the meeting, Republican Representative Sam Graves of Missouri, the ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said any multitrillion-dollar catchall bill would lose Republican support. “We have to be responsible, and a bill whose cost is not offset will lose Republican support,” he said.

DeFazio declined to disclose specifics discussed at the meeting, but he told reporters the conversation topics included how to pay for the bill. “He (Biden) wants to move as quickly as possible,” DeFazio said. “He wants it to be very big and he feels that this is the key to the recovery package.”